Dangerous Obsessions
by DiscordianSamba
Summary: AU. Danny runs away after the accident in the lab, and when he returns four years later, he's not the same Danny anymore. But what did he come back for? And what changed him? DxS
1. The Return

AN: (glomps story) This story is my baby. I've been working on the plot line and everything for the longest time now. This is my token insane Danny fic! Yes, insane Danny, not evil, exactly. Insane is better than evil, if you ask me! Sooo much more fun to poke around with. And then there's insanely evil, which is awesome too! There's plenty of fan-art that I've done for this particular fic already, which will be posted along with the second chapter. Heh, I was listening to Hyori's "Get Ya" over and over again while I was writing this. Such a cool song.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman! Man, you'd think the computer would just know to automatically put this here already...

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter One: The Return

Eighteen-year old Samantha Manson sighed, looking at her reflection in the locker room mirror. Staring back at her was the same face she had always had, violet eyes with short black hair, some of it held in a small ponytail. She had worn the same hairstyle and same gothic make-up for the past four years, in fear that when he returned, he might not be able to recognize her if she changed it. At the moment, however, she was clad in a black leotard, instead of her usual attire.

Four years ago, her best friend, Danny Fenton, had vanished without a trace, after getting into an accident in his parent's lab. He stuck around for about a day after it, only to have everyone wake up the next morning to an empty bed. There was nothing there, not even a note explaining why he had gone. For awhile, they had thought he might have been kidnapped, but when no ransom notice came, they quickly discarded that theory. Danny had run away, vanished, almost like a ghost that his parents spent their lives researching.

Sam had come to the ice skating rink today because she was feeling really depressed. It was starting to come around to the exact date of Danny's disappearance. This would officially mark the fourth year of his disappearance. The gothic teenager had gotten drawn into ice-skating after Danny had disappeared, as a suggestion from her grandmother, who said that it helped her relieve stress when she was Sam's age. Sam had taken her advice and found that the elderly women was right, it _did _help, at least for the time when was on the ice. It was like an entirely different world out there. She wasn't the best at it, not by far. She still occasionally slipped up on the ice.

She made her way carefully out of the locker room, sighing. There was no one else on the ice rink today, which she suspected might have something to do with her parents. They were ecstatic when she had taken up the sport and had done everything in their power to make sure she enjoyed it to the fullest of it's potential. It creeped her out that she and her parents both liked something, but she figured that if it helped them come to accept the rest of their daughter's differences, then she could easily get over the creepy feeling.

She sighed again, sliding out carefully onto the ice, carefully making her way around the rink in order to warm up. Her thoughts were starting to drift off however, onto her vanished friend. Over the years, she had come to realize just how deeply she had cared for him, but of course, such a realization was far too late. Danny was gone and no one ever knew if he was coming back. Sam hoped that he would, but even she doubted it from time to time.

"Ack!" Sam's eyes widened, she hadn't been paying attention and found herself slipping, heading towards the ice. She closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact and the cold rush that always followed after it.

The impact never came. She felt a cold hand clamp around her wrist, hoisting her back up.

"Geez, someone got clumsy."

Sam's eyes snapped open, recognizing the voice that spoke to her. Staring down at her was a very familiar pair of azure eyes. Her eyes widened, staring at the boy in front of her. Her mouth opened and closed several times, struggling to form the name that wanted to come out of them. "_Danny!"_

"In the flesh. Been awhile."

Sam stared at her old friend, her eyes the size of dinner plates. As well as getting taller and older, Danny had changed in other, drastic ways. His black hair now had two streaks of white in the bangs, as well as having a tattoo underneath his right eye, in a somewhat abstract black outline of a bird. His ears, what she could see of them, were pierced, one silver hoop dangling from each ear, as well as a silver ear-cuff above that. He had a nasty looking scar on his upper left arm as well. He was wearing a dark gray ski cap, tugged neatly over his ears, a spiked dogcollar, two black leather bracelets and black fingerless gloves, his nails painted with black nail polish. He wore a cloud gray tank top, a barcode on the front with the words 'Bite Me' written on top of it. Underneath that, he wore a dark gray T-shirt, the sleeves torn. His pants were brown, with black belts hanging from here and there, and chains hanging from random places. Possibly most shocking of all was the casual way he addressed her, like it had only been four days as opposed to four years since he had seen her last.

"What... where... Danny?" She repeated again, still in shock.

"Yeah, still me. Name hasn't changed since you asked me ten seconds ago. So, miss me?"

"Um... ah, yes? But.. where have you been all this time? Why did you run away like that!"

Danny shrugged. "Ah, I'll tell you that in good time. It's not important right now."

"Yes it is! You suddenly show up after vanishing for four years without even so much as a note, and you say it's not important?"

"Yeah, pretty much." Danny stared at her, a slight look of confusion spreading across his face. "What matters is that I'm here now, right?"

"Well, yeah, I guess, but-"

"Sam!"

The gothic girl turned her head, looking towards the direction of the voice that had called her name. Her friend Tucker was coming up towards her, tripping on the ice once, only to get back up. Sam looked back at Danny once, then turned fully to face her other friend. "Hey, your parents told me I'd find you here."

"...Yeah, me and someone else."

Tucker blinked, frowning. "Uh, Sam, hate to break it to you but we're the only ones here."

Sam's eyes widened again and she pivoted on her blades, looking at the area where Danny previously had been. "Wha- but he was just here!" Sam threw her arms out in front of her, pointing with them to the area where Danny had been, in a move of sheer and utter confusion.

Tucker blinked again. "Uh... who?"

"Danny!"

Tucker peered over the side of the skating fence, looking around. "No Danny, Sam. Are you feeling okay?" He looked at her, concerned. Sam frowned, looking over the skating fence herself, blinking in surprise when her observation confirmed what Tucker had said. She sighed, rubbing her forehead, closing her eyes in thought.

"I'm fine... just... a little stressed. What with the anniversary and all coming up." _Did I really just imagine that whole thing? It felt so real... I'm not going crazy, am I?_ "But I'll be okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"Miss him, don't you?" Tucker looked at her slyly, causing Sam to instantly turn beet red. Perhaps it had been a mistake for her to tell Tucker about how much she realized she had cared for their long-lost friend. "Yeah, I thought so. But don't worry about it so much. I miss him too, you know. Just... not like that."

"Tucker, stop teasing me! It's not funny..." Sam coughed, trying to banish the blush on her cheeks. "Anyways, um, what did you need to see me about?"

"Eh, nothing really. I just wanted to make sure you okay. Your parents said you looked pretty upset when you left in the morning." Tucker shrugged and Sam smiled about it. He could act like a clown, but he really did care about his friends in the end.

"Yeah... I'll be fine. I just need some alone time."

Tucker nodded. "See you at school tomorrow?" Sam nodded at him and Tucker grinned, waving. "Well, have fun with your alone time." The techno geek slowly worked his way off of the ice, trying not to trip. Sam watched him go, feeling relived and confused at the same time.

"Hnn... he hasn't changed any."

Sam jumped, pivoting around again. Danny was grinning at her, his chin perched on his hand, leaning over the railing. She turned her head then, looking in the direction in which Tucker had left, but he was gone. Sam turned back to Danny, who was simply grinning at her. She gulped and rubbed her eyes once, then twice, but both times Danny was still there. "You... you're really there right? And I'm _not _going crazy and just imagining things, right?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah to what, you really being there, or you being some highly complicated figment of my imagination?"

"First one. You're not going crazy, Sam. I just didn't want him to see me yet." Danny shrugged.

"But... where did you go? You just up and vanished! Like a ghost!"

Danny's eyes narrowed a bit at the mention of the word ghost, something Sam took note of. "Doesn't matter."

"Would you stop saying that! It _does _matter, Danny!" Sam said, irritated. Danny blinked at her, seemingly confused on why she was getting so upset.

"Why are you getting so worked up, Sam? It's not good for your health you know..."

Sam let out a long sigh, placing her hand on her forehead. "Nevermind, Danny." She removed the hand, looking at him. "Do your parent's know you're back?" Danny shook his head. "Well, we're going to go met them. Them and everyone else, before you and your disappearing acts convince everyone I'm crazy."

"It's not so bad you know, being crazy..."

Sam blinked, staring at the boy. "What did you say?"

Danny smiled at her, almost eerily. "I said, that's a great idea. I wouldn't want anyone to think you were crazy."

Sam opened her mouth to speak, then shook it, dropping the subject. "Come on. I'm going to change and when I get out, your coming with me back to your house." Danny shrugged again and Sam moved, skating off the ice, and slowly working her way back into the locker room, changing out of her leotard and into her normal clothing. She looked at herself in the mirror once, then headed out of the door. Danny was waiting for her, she was glad to see, sitting cross-legged on one of the benches. He grinned when he saw her come out.

"Wow, your still wearing that same kind of outfit?"

Sam blushed, turning away from Danny in an attempt to hide it. "I... thought you might not be able to recognize me if I changed too much. Looks like you weren't following the same method of thinking..." She cast a violet eye on his clothing, wondering what his parents would have to say upon seeing him. She knew one thing for sure though- her parents would definitely be more suspicious of him than they already were.

"I'd be able to recognize you no matter what you were wearing, or how much you had changed."

Sam's blush turned even darker, turning to face Danny. He was smiling at her, almost cluelessly. Sam gulped, tuning back around. She couldn't deny that he had grown far more attractive... She shook her head, trying to calm herself down. _Focus, Sam, Focus! You're going to take Danny back home now... So stop thinking about him like that! Stupid teenage hormones..._

Danny grinned, amusement showing in his azure eyes as he watched Sam struggle with her feelings. To be honest, he didn't really _want_ to go back home. He didn't want to be around anyone but Sam. After all, she was the only reason he had returned, but he wasn't about to let her know that. At least, not directly. It was more fun this way. He wanted to see how long she could go before she wound up admitting her feelings for him instead.

He had changed, there was no denying that. He had changed far more than anyone could possibly ever realize. But one thing for him that never had changed was his feelings for the girl in front of him. Rather than diminish, like his feelings for the others from his old life, his feelings for Sam had only intensified. So he had returned to Amity Park, to see her again, and to get her to run away with again. Of course, he would never let her know why he had run away in the first place, nor about the things that had caused him to change even further. She didn't really _need _to know that, after all. If she found out, however, and came to the realization that she didn't care for him as much anymore, then that would be too bad for her.

Because Danny wouldn't be leaving Amity Park without her. Whether she wanted to go with him or not.


	2. Back Home

AN: Chapter Two! And as I promised, all the fanart I currently have! Which, I gotta say, is some of my best work yet... Remember to take out the spaces! I had fun writing Danny's slight reminiscing in this chapter. I'll go into more detail of his past in a later chapter, which should be lots of fun! Ah, I loveeee this fic...

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 28794092/

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 28706014/

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 28750460/

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 29456467/ (ah! Forgot his white streaks, stupid Samba!)

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman! Who we should all send countless amounts of cookies too, and then encourage him to run for president. That'd be awesome.

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Two: Back Home

"Um... Mr. and Mrs. Fenton?" Samantha Manson poked her head in the door of the Fenton household. The two ghost hunters looked up from their work on their latest ghost hunting gadget and smiled at her.

"Sam! Come on in. Are you here to see Jazz?" Maddie asked, handing Jack a wrench.

"Um... no, actually. I, ah, came to.. tell you something."

"Is it about ghosts!" Jack spoke up, quickly standing up, looking around the room suspiciously.

Sam laughed a bit, albeit nervously. "No, not about ghosts. But ah, you see... I found Danny." She said, not knowing what other way to put it. The Fentons stared at her for a second, then looked at each other, blinking, then stared back at Sam again. An awkward silence filled the room, the trio simply staring at each other, each of them unable to form any words, or even move for that matter.

"Geez, are you all just going to stand there staring at each other all day?" Danny know stood directly behind Sam, leaning up against the wall, cleaning out one of his ears with his finger, rather nonchalantly. Sam jumped slightly, she hadn't heard Danny come in. The Fentons blinked in surprise once more, staring at the boy.

"...Danny?"

"Yeah, hey." He waved slightly at them, his voice not showing much expression. Jack and Maddie exchanged looks once again. Jack quickly broke the frozen moment, however, running up to the raven-haired teen , surprisingly fast for a man of his size, and hoisting him up in a large hug. Danny's eyes widened, surprised by the sudden display of affection. "Whoa! Geez, put me down, will you!"

Jack put his son down and Maddie came up behind him, looking carefully at her son. She was a bit stunned at his new look, as well as the fact that he had suddenly reappeared almost as suddenly as he had disappeared. Her now eighteen-year old son returned her evaluating look, and Maddie couldn't shake the feeling that there was something... off about him. However, Maddie was simply glad to have her son home, and so she decided to hold her tongue on the topic, at least for now.

"Danny, is that a tattoo?"

"Un-huh." He muttered casually, expecting his mother to start lecturing him. His azure eyes gazed over the living room. Not much had changed since he had run away. They had gotten a new sofa, but besides that, everything was exactly the same. It was almost frightening, like everything from his old life had been frozen in time.

Maddie sighed and looked at her husband, who was wearing a big, goofy grin. She smiled herself then. She was going to lecture him, but she decided that wouldn't be the best thing to do. Things had happened yes, but for now, they should just be thankful he was _home_. "It's nice to have to you home, Danny."

"Sure..." The teen shrugged, slightly surprised that his mother hadn't burst out into a lecture. He let none of this show on his face though, always maintaining a cool, detached look.

Sam looked between Danny and his parents. She had expected a more... touching reunion, to be honest, but it almost seemed that Danny didn't care for being here. She frowned, worrying for her friend a bit, her mind once more wondering what had happened to him, and why he had vanished in the first place.

"What's going on dow- _DANNY!"_ The quartet looked up towards the top of the stairs, looking at a stunned Jazz. Her eyes were wide, staring at her little brother. She quickly shook off her surprise, and rushed down the stairs, embracing her brother without a second thought. Once again, Danny was taken aback by the warmth, his discomfort was retained to a slight shocked glimmer in his otherwise un-emotional eyes. "Where have you been? What did you do to your hair! And your face... and your clothes!" Jazz sputtered out, all of her thoughts coming out of her mouth at once, her logical, psychoanalyzing side lost for the moment.

"You know, you can let go of me at any time."

Jazz blinked and turned red, pulling away from her brother. "Sorry Danny, but I was just so surprised to see you! I missed you so much, we all did. But what on earth happened to you?"

"Well, coming of from your previous questions, One, where have I been? Many places, and none of them any of your business." Jazz looked taken aback by the unfeeling tone her brother's voice was carrying, as well as his words. "Two, What did I do to my hair, it's quite obvious that I streaked it and let it grow out a little. You haven't gone blind, have you?" Jazz's shocked expression only grew, it now extending to his parents and Sam. "Three, I got a tattoo on my face, I have three more in case you're curious, as well as a tongue piercing." He stuck out his tongue for a second, exposing a silver tongue stud. "And four, I got some new clothes. Or did you honestly expect me to wear the same outfit for forever?"

"I... ah... no?" Jazz blinked, stunned into a confused, almost wordless state.

"Danny, I do hope you plan to apologize for talking to your older sister like that." Maddie said, looking at her son carefully, her arms crossed in front of her.

Danny shrugged. "No, not really. Don't see why I should."

Maddie let out a long sigh. "Daniel Fenton, I'm not sure I like this attitude of yours. We've been worried sick over you for the past four years, and you simply stroll in here and show us all an extreme amount of disrespect? I don't think so, young man. I'm not sure where you've been all this time, but we will _not _have any of that in this household. Now, go to your room." She pointed up towards the stairs. She hated having to punish her child when he had just gotten back, but the boy was leaving her with no other alternative. Her motherly instinct that something was wrong with her child was now going off at full throttle.

Danny shrugged. "Sure." He looked back once at Sam, and smiled slightly, then went up to his room. It was like it had been locked in time, nothing had changed since he had left, except for the fine layer of dust that was covering everything. There were even a few cobwebs here and there. It was obvious no one had been in here for a long time. He frowned, moving over towards his dresser, picking up a picture of his family and his old friends, running a finger over each of the faces, removing the layer of dust that covered them. "Huh..."

He looked up from the photograph, his eyes scanning the room once more. It was almost like traveling back in time, to when he had simply been your average, naive teenager. He could almost see himself, visualizing in his mind's eye the memories that this room held. His azure eyes narrowed, a touch of crimson showing in them, throwing the photo in a fit of anger. It crashed against the wall, the frame shattering into pieces. He sighed angrily, tuning his head away from the shattered frame, and sat on the bed, kicking up dust as he did so. He leaned back, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. He had come back to Amity for one reason only, to get the only girl he felt something for. But the longer he stayed here, the longer memories and feelings that he wanted to stay buried began to surface again. Good, positive memories, from when he was happy, from when he was _normal._ He didn't like it one bit. After he had escaped from that place, he found that it was far easier for him to simply be bitter, for him to hate the world. He couldn't afford to try and convince himself that he could blend in with humans any longer, and so he had simply accepted what he had become. He was, as far as his own views were concerned, no longer a member of the human race. He was, simply put, a half-living freak of nature.

He sighed, running a hand through his dual-colored bangs. He rested it for awhile there. It was warmer than a dead person's hand, yet colder than a human's. He lifted it up, staring at it. With his other hand he pushed up the leather bracelet and the glove that hid his wrist, staring at the tattoo there. Danny himself had only gotten two tattoos, the other two, his first, were forced on him against his will. They weren't signs of his individuality, they were signs of his imprisonment, signs that someone once, and still did, really, own him. It was simple enough, a black barcode with the number '6821' written underneath it. The one of his right wrist mirrored it perfectly.

He hated them. Occasionally he wanted to rip off his own hands just so he wouldn't have to see the tattoos anymore, but if he did that, then he would ever be able to feel the pleasure of taking the lives of those who messed with him even more than he had already been messed with. If it weren't for them, he might actually have been able to live a somewhat normal life. But they had taken what the accident made him and changed it, making it a hundred times worse.

One part human, one part ghost, all abomination. So they called him at the Institute. Even among the other so-called 'patients' there, he didn't fit in. They all had one thing that connected them, they were all still completely alive. Danny, however, had one foot in the world of the living, and one foot in the world of the dead. His existence should have been impossible and yet, here he was. For this reason, the lanky teen had been a favorite of the researchers there.

_Of course, _he mused bitterly, having long put down his hand, _if you hadn't run away, none of this would have ever happened. They would have never found you, and you would have never had to gone through that. So, in the end, everything's your fault. Good going, you idiot._

His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. Danny sighed, rolling his eyes and pulling himself up off the bed, quickly covering up the tattoo on his left wrist. "What?"

His mother opened up the door, peeking in. "Can I come in?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "You'll come in if I tell you not too anyways."

Maddie sighed, entering the room. "It's so dark in here..." She flicked on the light switch and Danny winced momentarily at the rapid light change. Maddie smiled at him, sitting down in the chair at Danny's old desk, after dusting it off. "Danny, I don't know what happened to you... or why you ran away to began with but... I want you to know that your father and I love you, no matter what." _Even if Jack has an unusual sense of punishment. I already told him I would never use the Fenton Stockades. Honestly, why he even built that to begin with is beyond me! _Maddie shook her head slightly, getting back to the topic at hand. "And... you don't have to tell us right away... but we'd like to hear it sometime."

Danny just stared at her, no hint of emotion showing on his face. Maddie sighed. "We already called Mr. Lancer, and re-enrolled you in school. We had to pull a few strings, but we managed to get you into the senior class."

Now Danny's eyes narrowed. "I'm not going back to school."

"You are, and you'll like it, Danny. You know we're only thinking of your best interests. Besides, Sam will be there, and so will Tucker. It'll be just like old times..." Maddie smiled at him. Danny sighed in irritation, rubbing the back of his neck.

"_Fine_... I'll go, but on whether I actually will do any work or not, I will make no promises."

Maddie sighed, that would have to do. She got up from the chair, nodding at her son, heading towards the door. Once in the doorway, she turned back, looking at her son. "Danny..."

"What now?" He eyed her, irritation showing in them.

"...nothing..." With that, the women left the room.

Danny sighed, flopping back down on his bed, muttering quietly to himself, not knowing if his mother was still listening in or not. "I just don't get humans anymore..."

He stayed like that for several more hours, eventually drifting off into sleep, only to be waken up every few hours by nightmares. He had long since stopped waking up crying or screaming, only silent pain making his already stone-cold heart just that much heavier.


	3. School

AN: Woo, Chapter Three, Danny's return to school! I had fun writing this, esspecilly the fight scence with Dash. There is nothing like seeing Dash put in his place, except when you're the one writing it! (Squees)

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman! Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be dancing the tango with the Queen of England.

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Three: School

Morning came to Amity Park, and all of it's children began loading up for what is known as the torture chamber that is school, including one Danny Fenton, age eighteen, recently returned home after running away for four years. He sighed irritably at the thought of going to school, but at least there, he could be surrounded by people he pretty much already hated, as opposed to ones he had loved at one point in time. Without getting any breakfast, the less time he spent with his family the better, he left, heading off towards school. The fact that Sam would be there was really the only thing he was looking forward too.

As he entered the school building, he heard the buzz start. Rumors starting and spreading like wildfire, people stunned at his transformation. He ignored them and headed onto homeroom, sitting down in the seat located farthest in the back. His entrance into the classroom started to cause people to take double-takes. There were familiar faces, Dash, Paulina, Star, Kwan, and Valerie were all there, eyeing him and whispering. He rolled his eyes and focused on the door, waiting for someone more important to come.

There she was, Sam, the only reason Danny wanted to come back to Amity in the first place. Without a doubt, she was the most beautiful person in the room, and most likely, the world. She spotted Danny and her violet eyes blinked, smiling slightly. He smiled a bit back at her as she moved to take a seat next to him.

"Hey Danny... You're parents already dragged you back to school?"

Danny shrugged, looking a bit irritated. "They seem to think I need it."

"So you _are _back!" The two teens looked up, Tucker standing in front of them, a big grin on his face. "Man, it's been along time! Where the heck have you _been_, Danny?" Tucker sat down in front of Danny, turning around to talk to him.

"Places." Danny shrugged again. Danny still found Tucker tolerable to talk too, although he'd take Sam over the African-American boy any day. Still, he was better than some, such as his overly perky sister, or his annoying, clueless, ghost-hunting parents. And most definitely, he was better than that moron, Dash Baxter, and that slut, Paulina. Looking back now, Danny couldn't even believe that he had _any _sort of crush on the clueless bimbo. Looking at her now, she reminded him of one of those stupid Barbie dolls, slightly attractive, clueless, and he bet her head popped off quite easily as well. He smirked, picturing that in his head, quite the lovely image, possibly the best Paulina had ever looked. She was definitely no match for someone like Sam.

His fantasy was interrupted as the door to the classroom opened once more, an annoyingly familiar teacher walking in. _Mr. Lancer... _He thought, bitterly. He had never liked the bald teacher and he got the feeling that he never liked him either. Apparently, he had moved up to teaching seniors since he had seen him last. Just his luck.

The teacher caught Danny's eye, his eyebrow shooting up at the boy's new appearance. He saw none of the old Danny Fenton in the boy who now sat with Sam and Tucker. The old Danny was always either smiling or embarrassed, full of life, and always trying to fit in, rather unsuccessfully. This Danny, however, had a somewhat amused, almost sarcastic expression on his face. Danny smirked a bit at Mr. Lancer, which sent involuntary shivers down his spine. He had been a teacher long enough to know when something had gone terribly, terribly wrong with a student. And something most definitely had gone wrong with Danny Fenton. He shook off his thoughts, however, realizing that the rest of the class was staring at him, waiting for him to speak.

"Well, as I'm sure you all have noticed, after a four year absence, Daniel Fenton has decided to grace us with his presence once again." He saw Danny's amused grin flash again and Lancer couldn't help but feel that the boy really _did _think he was gracing the rest of the student body with his presence. His eyes fell open the other students in the class, all of them stealing a look at the lanky teenager, then turning around, whispering to each other. No doubt that there would be hundreds of new rumors about Danny by the end of the day.

Danny yawned, leaning back a bit in his chair, placing his feet on the wire rack underneath Tucker's seat. "Wake me when he stops yappin'." He muttered, closing his eyes. Tucker and Sam exchanged a look. Danny had been known to fall asleep in class before, but it was mainly from exhaustion rather than just a blatant unwillingness to learn or disrespect towards the teacher. Mr. Lancer started his lesson, occasionally looking back at Danny, frowning deeply. He let out an irritated sigh, putting down his chalk and moving to Danny's desk, clearing his throat.

"Mr. Fenton, am I really that boring?"

One of Danny's azure eyes peeked open. "Yeah, pretty much. You could put an insomniac to sleep. In fact, I think you should try that out as a career and prevent us all from suffering extreme mental distress due to your sorry teaching skills. After all, listening to you yap could be considered cruel and unusual punishment."

Mr. Lancer blinked in shock. The old Danny would have never talked back so directly too a teacher, reconfirming in his mind his theory that something had gone wrong with Danny Fenton. He quickly changed his expression to that of a frown of disapproval, but not before Danny flashed a triumphant smirk at him, amused at having stunned the teacher speechless, at least for a little while.

"Mr. Fenton, if you're not interested in learning the material, I suggest you leave." Danny's smirk returned, much to Mr. Lancer's dismay.

"Thought you'd never ask!" He made no hesitation in getting up and heading past the bald man and out of the door, leaving stunned whispers behind. Sam and Tucker once again exchanged a look, then looked towards the door Danny had left through, confused and worried thoughts drifting through their minds.

* * *

Danny hadn't shown up at any of his other morning classes, so it was lunchtime when the duo saw him again. He was waiting at their old table, his hands tucked into the pockets, his legs crossed out in front of him. He cocked an eyebrow in amusement as Sam and Tucker walked up, blinking a bit. He had no lunch tray, nor did he seem inclined to get one.

"What was that all about in Lancer's class, Danny?" Tucker asked, starting to munch on a sandwich. His old friend had now turned around, facing the two. He shrugged casually, as if it was no big deal.

"I got bored. Honestly how you hu-people," he caught himself, suppressing his vocal detachment from the human race, "Can get anything from someone who just drones on in such a monotone voice is beyond me."

Sam's eyebrows raised, she had caught Danny's near slip up, although she didn't know exactly what he _was _going to say. "And your other morning classes?"

Danny shrugged once again. "Just as boring. What's the point of school, anyways? If you ask me, they're something equivalent to government-sponsored brainwashing factories."

Tucker opened his mouth to make a remark, but he was cut of by a loud, annoying voice.

"Fen_turd! _Heads up!" Dash Baxter, the school's resident jock, picked up a slab of meat from his try, hurling it at the raven-haired boy. Danny cocked an eyebrow and pulled his right hand casually out of his pocket, and neatly caught the meat slab before it smacked into his face.

"Hey, can I have that?" Tucker asked, sounding hopeful. Danny shrugged, dropping it on Tucker's plate.

"Help yourself."

"Sweet!" Tucker wasted no time, eagerly digging into the meat slab, a grin of happiness forming on his face. Danny then turned his attention back to the annoyed jock.

"You weren't supposed to catch it!"

Danny rolled his eyes. "See, there's a problem there, Dash. I don't like doing what I'm told."

Dash's fist twitched. "You're dead meat, Fenton!" Danny's eyebrow raised at the mention of dead meat, finding it slightly amusing, considering what was just thrown at him. The blonde jock rushed towards the table, striking out with a punch and blinking when it hit nothing but air. Danny had leaned downwards, easily avoiding the fist. He smirked, his hidden eyes flashing crimson, and grabbed Dash's arm with both hands and giving it a powerful twist. The sound of breaking bones echoed throughout the cafeteria. Everyone stared in stunned silence as Danny let go of the jock's arm. Dash backed away, stunned and terrified, his useless arm hanging limply at his side.

"You... you... You're a freak, Fenton!" His good arm pointed accusingly at Danny. Danny, who had gotten up by now, merely smirked and bowed mockingly to Dash.

"Why yes I am. Glad to be of service to you, Oh King of Ignoramia." He straightened out, crossing his arms over his chest, an expression of amusement crossing his face. He had always wanted to do something like this to Dash, always wanted to see him weak and helpless, like the jock had always made him feel in the past. It felt good to be giving Dash a taste of his own medicine. "Now, have you learned your lesson, or do I have to break all of your other bones?"

Dash bit his lip, his eyes darting around the cafeteria. Everyone was staring at them, even the students who found no interest in fights. He gulped. Danny had no doubt that if it had just been the two of them, he would have simply fled, but Dash did have his pride. Prideful and cowardly, two words that described Dash well, although he usually hid his cowardness, picking on people who were weaker than him, which he had assumed that Danny still was. Clearly, he had assumed wrong.

"Like I'd ever be afraid of you Fenton! You just got lucky, that's all. Really, really lucky!" Dash growled out, swinging a punch with his good arm. Danny sighed, rolling his eyes and moving to catch Dash's arm, using it to hurl the boy against the wall. Admittedly, he was tempted to simply rip off his arm, but that would arose even more suspicion that what he had already did. Dash crashed against the wall, moaning, but not making any move to get up. Danny smirked, dusting off his hands, and shoving them back in his pockets. Now the entire cafeteria was staring at him, watching him as he casually sat back down at the lunch table. Tucker and Sam stared wide-eyed and open mouthed at him. Danny looked at then, and down at Tucker's plate, looking at one of his burgers.

"Hey, are you gonna finish that?" Tucker shook his head slowly and Danny grinned. "I'm taking it then!" He took the burger, and began to munch on it casually.

"Yoo hoo, Danny!" Danny sighed irritably, turning around to face the person who had called him. Standing there was none other than Paulina Sanchez, smiling like a bimbo. "Since you just beat up Dash and all, that officially makes you the coolest guy in the school! And as the coolest guy in school..." She smiled as charmingly as possible, batting her eyebrows. "You'll need the hottest women in the school to be your girlfriend..."

"You know, there was a time, Paulina, when I would have glady accepted that offer." He smirked at her, amused. Surprisingly, today was turning out to be quite fun after all. "But not anymore. You see, I realized I'm not into sluts with and IQ lower than my age."

Paulina blinked, stunned. She was Paulina Sanchez, the most popular girl in school. _No one _spoke to her that way! She got up quickly, huffing in irritation. "Would someone _please _hurt the freak for me?" The football team, the members of the tough-boy crowd all locked between one another, then at the still-collapsed Dash, then back at Danny.

"Uh... Maybe that isn't such a good idea, Paulina... We don't want to get in trouble, you know." One of them spoke slowly, trying to hide his fear. Danny flashed another amused grin, wondering why he was ever even slightly afraid of these people. But then again, that _was _when he was weak. But he had gotten stronger, much stronger, to the point where no human could scare him.

Well, most humans, at any rate.

"Leaves of Grass! What on earth is going on in here?" Mr. Lancer entered, being led in by a student who was now trying to hide from sight, casting his eyes on the fallen Dash. "Kwan, take your friend to the nurse's offices! Mr. Fenton, you'll be coming with me, and we'll discuss your punishment..." From the look on his face, it was clear that Mr. Lancer never thought he would utter those two sentences. Dash was most likely the strongest person in school, and Danny, before he had run away, had probably been one of the meekest. He was stunned when he was informed of the fight in the cafeteria, hardly believing that Danny had managed to not only break Dash's arm with his bare hands, but also hurl the jock across the room and into the wall. He knew for certain that Danny had no martial arts training, which in his eyes, would be the only thing that could have possibly made him capable of thrashing Dash so thoroughly.

Danny sighed, irritated, but got up anyways, following the teacher out of the classroom. He was hoping to get expelled, or at the very least, suspended. School was a drag, and beating up Dash and insulting Paulina could only entertain him for so long. Sure, he would have to see Sam less, but Danny didn't mind. She would belong to him soon enough, after all.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other for what must have been the fifth time that day. "That... wasn't normal, was it?" Tucker asked. Sam shook her head. "That was downright freaky... Man, I had no idea Danny could even fight like that!"

"He couldn't, at least not before. He was in about the same shape as you were, remember? Could barely even do one pull-up."

"Hey! I resent that, you know."

"What? It's true." Sam grinned at him, then frowned again, all mirth lost. "But I think something is seriously wrong with Danny."

"What should we do?"

"We have to find some way to find out what happened to him over the four years he was gone and why he disappeared to begin with. I get the feeling he's not going to tell us, so we're going to have to find some alternative method to get our information." She frowned, tapping her chin in thought. She was quickly broken off from her train of thought, however by a sudden draft and raising of screams. She looked up, towards the ceiling her eyes going wide with shock. Holding the roof in a clawed paw was a blue, transparent dragon of all things!

"Sam..."

"Yeah Tucker?"

"I think we should run now."

"That... sounds good."

Meanwhile, in the hall, Danny blinked, a blue wisp of smoke coming out from his mouth and he turned around, looking back towards the cafeteria, from which people were flocking out of. His eyebrows raised a bit. _A ghost? Eh, well as long as it doesn't interfere with me, then it's not my problem..._

Another scream came, coming over louder than any of the other screams for Danny. In the space of a heartbeat, he knew who it was. He didn't Tucker's shouting of her name to tell him.

The ghost had Sam.

It had now become his problem.


	4. Phantom

AN: Chapter Four, and the debut of Phantom's new look! Huzzah! Phantom is quite a bit more powerful in this fic, when you consider that it's been for years and... other things. Tucker being a clueless third wheel! (shifty eyes) I really liked the Dragon Ghost's, Dora's, character development in the new episode, "Beauty Marked". Man, that episode had been cracking up, especially when Sam was sliding down the table on the giant pig! That was so awesome! And I've always wanted to swing on a chandelier too...

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman! Now, if anyone needs me, I'm going to be singing at a wedding between a giant mutant chicken and raisin. Ciao!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Four: Phantom

"_SAM!"_

Samantha Manson felt a wave of panic close over her as the dragon clamped it's clawed hands around her, pulling her away from the ground and the safety and promise of escape it represented. She could fell a scream coming from her mouth on of primal terror. Tucker, on the ground, looked around, panicked, trying to think of something that he could use to save Sam. He spotted a bit of the roof, the size of his fist, and picked it up, trying to hurl it at the dragon, aiming for it's head. It would have hit, except for the fact that it went right _through _the dragon-as if it were some kind of ghost.

"Oh man, that can't be good..."

"Oh please. Do you guys actually think a measly rock would have any effect on a dragon ghost?" Tucker turned around, staring in the direction the voice had come from. It sounded a bit like Danny, only with more echo to it. Standing behind him, crimson eyes narrowed, was a spiky white-haired teen, a ghostly aura around him. He was wearing a low-cut T-shirt, which started under his collar bone, it's sleeves looking like they had been ripped at the bottom, as well as the end of the shirt as well. He was wearing black bondage pants, the bondage straps white and white boots. He wore a black choker and black fingerless, wrist-length gloves, with black leather bracelets around his wrists, similar to Danny's. His ears were pointed and pierced, two silver hoops, and one silver ear cuff, also similar to how Danny had his pierced. His fingernails were more like black-painted claws and he had black curve markings around his eyes. The one on his left eye curved upwards, from the top, while the one on his right curved downwards, going down to his cheek. Tucker could see bits of a scar poking out from underneath the sleeve on his left arm, also similar to Danny's. Of course, at the time, none of the similarities registered to Sam and Tucker, due to the rather perilous situation they were currently in.

"Who are..." Tucker barely muttered out before he found the ghostly boy flying past him. Danny smirked in amusement at his bafflement, as well as the fact that he clearly didn't recognize him. He had managed to escape Lancer easily, the teacher fleeing with the rest of the students once he caught wind of what was happening.

The dragon ghost's eyes narrowed as it opened it's mouth, hurling out blue ecto-fire at the hybrid. Danny's amused smirk only grew, his crimson eyes glowing brighter as he placed one of his hands in front of him. The energy channeled around his arm, absorbing itself, moving towards the back of his body where it, surprisingly, formed into two small bright green bat wings that floated behind his back. They were ecto-wings, a storage place, you could say, for absorbed ecto-energy. This was a trick that he learned at the Institute, for as much as they tested him, they also taught him, hoping to somehow make him into a weapon. Of course, that didn't work out too well for them, as Danny used his new techniques to escape, vanishing from under their radar for a year.

The dragon ghost seemed surprised at the easy way the white-haired ghost absorbed it's energy. Sam was watching as well, her heart pounding from where she was held in the dragon ghost's clutches. Something about him seemed so _familiar, _but she just couldn't put her finger on it. And right now, she had bigger things to worry about.

"Tch. What a foolish ghost you are." Danny smirked, a somewhat cruel light dancing in his eyes. "You're years behind defeating me..." He raised his hand, pointing it at the dragon, almost casually. Vermilion ecto-energy started to spiral around the arm, before it flared outwards and gathered in his hand, shooting off a blast of vermilion ecto-fire at the Dragon Ghost. "What comes around, goes around!"

The dragon ghost attempted to avoid it, only to be caught still in the blast. The amulet around it's neck snapped, falling to the ground. Danny looked down at it with interest, then looked up, blinking. "Hm?" The dragon ghost in front of him was changing, it's size rapidly decreasing. Sam slipped out of what was once a clawed hand, hurtling towards the ground. She let out another scream, today was definitely not turning out to be her day. Danny's eyes widened as he flew in to catch her.

Sam's eyes, which she had closed tightly, opened, wondering why she hadn't hit the ground. This was the second time in two days that she had found herself falling, and then not, and it was just getting a little old. She found herself staring up into the crimson eyes of the ghost boy and blinked, a sense of deja vu rising in her. The sense was broken when the ghost boy looked away from her, towards what once was a dragon ghost. Sitting on the ruined cafeteria floor now was a ghostly young women, who looked like she had been plucked straight from the medieval ages, with pale blonde hair held in a ponytail and sickly looking green skin.

Danny frowned, landing on the ground and placing Sam on one of the still upright lunch tables, moving over towards the ghost. His eyes narrowed as he approached, his arms crossed in front of him. "Oi... What did you think you were doing?"

The ghost looked up, shocked. "I... where am I? I can't remember anything..." She held her head, tendrils of pale blonde hair slipping through her fingers. "The last thing I remember... I was... something captured me... But what on earth happened after that?"

Danny frowned and turned his head, facing the amulet that had clattered onto the floor. He floated over to it, picking it up. "Is this yours?" The ghost girl nodded. Danny flipped the amulet over. Attached to the back of the amulet was a silver and green chip, it's familiarity making Danny's blood run cold. He had seen this before. It was a chip designed by the Institute to keep all of its patients in line, obedient. Danny swore loudly then, firing a small bolt of ecto-fire at the chip, shattering it. He then tossed the amulet back to the ghost. "Now get out of here. And don't come back." He glared at her. The ghost girl clutched her amulet, nodding rapidly at him and quickly flew away. Danny knew she was probably heading back to the ghost portal.

_They're still after me! Crap, they know where I am now..._ His eyes darted over to Sam, who was staring, mystified at the scene. _And they were after Sam. I don't think that was a coincidence. They know about her... This is bad. They're going to be trying to use her to get to me. Those bastards..._

"Sam, are you okay?" Tucker had moved to rejoin his friend, looking at her worriedly. Sam blinked, tearing her head away from the white-haired boy. She gulped, trying to form the words she wanted to say, but found it took quite some time before she could find her voice.

"I... I... I'm fine... Tucker. Thank you..." She shook her head, trying to get her thoughts in order. Her attention shifted, looking back at the white-haired teenager, a ghost, as she now assumed he was. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was something terribly familiar about him, but she had no idea what it was.

Danny frowned, looking at Sam and Tucker. Sam was staring at him, clearly still a bit confused. Tucker was looking at him as well. "Uh... thank you?" Tucker said, obviously a bit stunned from it all himself. "Uh... what exactly are you?"

Danny rolled his eyes, annoyed. "A ghost. Isn't it obvious?"

"And that was...?"

"Wow, we've got a real Sherlock on our hands, don't we? That was a dragon ghost. Stupid. Geez, what did you _think _it was?" Danny grinned in amusement. "Now, if you don't mind, I have other places to be." He looked at Sam, then smiled slightly. "But you'll see me again."

Sam blinked. "Wait!... You didn't uh... give us your name..."

"Phantom." Danny looked back at her and smiled again, then turned invisible, flying away. He landed in the empty hall-way and shifted back into his human form, grinning to himself. "Perfect. They don't suspect anything." He sighed then, running a hand through his dual-colored bangs. "Still... I have to be on my guard now. I don't know what they might send after me next."

* * *

"A dragon ghost, huh?" Danny said casually, looking at Sam and Tucker. The two nodded. "Hnnn... I wonder if we'll get the next few days off of school then..."

Sam and Tucker blinked, exchanging a look. "Uh... the fact that our school was just attacked by a dragon ghost doesn't bother you any?" Sam asked, a bit of confusion could be heard in her voice.

Danny simply shrugged. "Eh. I've seen weirder."

Sam gave him a weird look. _He's seen weirder? Okay... That in itself is pretty weird._ "Like what?"

Danny cocked an eyebrow, grinning. "Do you _really _want me to answer that question?"

Sam blinked. "Uh... on second thought... maybe not..."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Danny grinned, tucking his hands into his pockets. "So, are we going to get out of here before Lancer remembers he has to punish me, or what?"

"Where'd you learn to fight like that anyways, Danny?" Tucker asked him, looking at his old friend with curiosity.

"Eh... You know. Around." Danny shrugged, once again evading the question. "Now come on." He looked at Sam, smiling a bit. "Why don't we go catch a movie or something?"

"That sounds awesome!" Tucker exclaimed. "They have the new Zombie Teacher movie out that I've been just dying to see."

Danny shot him a look and sighed. Tucker seemed completely oblivious to the fact that he only wanted Sam to come with him. But he figured if he said that Tucker couldn't come, then Sam wouldn't go either. He would just have to try and put up with him for the time being. But he would eventually get Sam alone, and she would eventually admit her feelings for him, which, since he was not as clueless as he used to be, he knew she had. "Yeah..."

Sam shrugged. For a second she had thought Danny, as silly as it sounded, was asking her out. But she knew that wasn't possible, because he only thought of her as a friend... right? She had no idea whether or not this... newer Danny returned her feelings. She knew for certain that the old Danny, the one that had been around before he had run away, did. It was obvious and yet Danny himself was completely clueless that Sam liked him back. Of course, she was much better at hiding it than him. Now, if Danny still had feelings for her, it seemed to be the other way around. Although, now that she thought about it, he only did act really nice when he was talking to her.

She looked at Danny, who was currently arguing with Tucker over who should pay for the tickets. Danny looked really annoyed, but Tucker, in all his stubbornness, was refusing to pay. Eventually Danny sighed in irritation, giving up and agreeing to pay for the tickets. Sam smiled, that was so very much like old times. For a second, as she was looking at Danny, a brief image of Phantom flickered in her mind. She blinked, shaking her head in confusion. _Why did I just think of him? Come to think of it though... he and Danny do look a little alike. But Danny's a human, and Phantom's a ghost. There's no way they could be the same person._

"Sam?"

"Huh?" She blinked, her chain of thought broken, looking at Danny. "Oh, sorry Danny. I was thinking. What were you saying?"

"I was asking if you were just gonna stand there like a beautiful statue, or if you were going to come to the movies with us."

"Yeah, I'm com-" Sam blinked, looking at Danny oddly. "Wait, wait, did you just say I'm beautiful?" Danny grinned at her, shrugging his shoulders. Sam shook her head. _Am I going crazy? That's the second time I've heard Danny say something that he hasn't..._

"Well, come on."

"Right..." She followed after Danny and Tucker, her eyes transfixed on the back of Danny's head. _What's going on here? Something weird is definitely happening. First, Danny returns, changed somehow, and he won't tell anybody what happened to him, or where's he been. Then a ghost dragon attacks, and a ghost named Phantom saves me. Danny and Phantom look a little alike... _Sam shook her head. _No, that's probably just a coincidence. _She blinked, looking at the scar on Danny's left arm. _But if that's a coincidence... why do they have the exact same scar, in the exact same place? The chances of that happening are very, very minimal..._

She frowned, staring at the boy walking in front of her. _Could it be that Danny's different because he's not really Danny anymore? He did run away after an accident with his parent's ghost portal, after all. What if something happened to him? Something ghostly... Could a ghost have tried to possess him? Then if that's so, then that means that that's not Danny at all!_

She blinked then, thinking about it some more. _No.. wait. That couldn't be right. This Danny still remembers things. How could a ghost tap into his memories? I'm no expert, but I don't think that's possible. Man... I'm so confused... What is going on here? _She sighed, walking on ahead, not noticing that the two in front of her had stopped. She slammed into Danny and fell back, landing on her rear. "Ow..."

Danny turned around and offered Sam a hand. "You really have gotten more clumsy." Sam gave him an evil look and Danny just grinned at her, unfazed by it.

"I can get up on my own you know." She said.

"Then get up on your own then." Danny pulled his hand in, crossing his arms over his chest. Sam grumbled a bit, but pulled herself off, dusting off the back of her skirt and stockings.

"Why did you two stop, anyways?"

"Duh, because we're at the ticket booth." Danny said, in a slightly amused voice. Sam blinked and looked over his shoulder, seeing that they were indeed at the ticket booth. Tucker was buying the tickets, obviously Danny had managed to convince him to buy them while they were walking. Sam practically smacked herself, she had been so out of it that she hadn't even noticed they had already arrived at the theatre. "You shouldn't smack yourself Sam, you might wound that wonderful face of yours." Sam blinked, turning back to face Danny.

"What did you just say?" She asked, in a stunned and slightly confused voice.

"I didn't say anything, Sam." Danny grinned at her.

"Hey, are you two coming, or what?" Danny and Sam turned to face Tucker, who was holding three tickets. "Okay Danny, I may have bought the tickets, but you better be buying the snacks!" Danny gave him a casual shrug, then turned to Sam.

"So, what do you want?"

"Uh... popcorn..." She blinked. That made the third time she had heard Danny say something when he really hadn't. She frowned to herself then, looking at him. _Did he really not say something, or is he just messing with me? Or maybe I'm just trying to hear things I want to here... _She made a confused face then, her chin in her hand. _Wait, if that's the case, why did I imagine the Danny said that being crazy wasn't so bad? Maybe he is saying those things..._

"Here." Sam blinked, a popcorn bag in her face, held by a pale hand with black-painted nails. She took it from Danny, holding it close.

"Um... thank you." _Think of something to ask him, Sam... Maybe you'll get an answer this time. _Her eyes fell on his nails. "So, uh, Danny... why the painted fingernails?" She could have smacked herself for asking a question that pointless.

"They're not painted..." Danny said, trailing off.

Sam blinked. "Huh?"

Danny gave her a smile that made chills run down her spine. "Nothing. Now come on. The movie isn't not going to wait for the two..." He eyed Tucker, remembering to his great regret that he was still here. "The three of us." He finished.

"Right..." The two followed behind Tucker into the movie theater, Sam, for reasons she couldn't quite understand made certain to stand behind Danny. When she took her seat, she made sure that Tucker was sitting between them. She caught Danny shooting a slight glare at the oblivious Tucker, and for just a second, she could have _sworn _his eyes were crimson. She shook the thought though, it was way to crazy to even consider.

Or was it?


	5. Dealing with Family

AN: Chapter Five! I really enjoyed writing this! It was fun and angsty, all at the same time! Even though it took about three minutes for me to remember the name of Jazz's teddy bear. I thought of everything from "Mr. Einstein" to "Mr. Sluffypants". No, I have no idea where that last one came from either, but I thought it. Kind of scary, huh? Man, I love the scenes between Danny and Jazz in this! So much fun.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman. Now, if you need me, I'll be getting over the emotional scarring over thinking up a name like 'Mr. Sluffypants'.

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Five: Dealing with Family

"Daniel Fenton!"

"Annnnddd here it comes." After the movies, the trio had went on their separate ways. Danny had spent the following three hours out on the town, doing nothing in particular. When he had returned home, he found his parents waiting for him, anger showing in their faces. Danny sighed, rolling his eyes at his parents predictability. No doubt Mr. Lancer had called them about the fight at school, as well as ducking out before he could receive his actual punishment.

"Danny, there is absolutely no excuse for fighting in school! You hurt that poor boy very badly! What do you have to say for yourself?" Maddie frowned, her eyes showing her disapproval Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot, impatiently waiting for an answer.

"Only that Dash started it and deserved it." Danny looked at her, a bit of cruelty showing in his eyes. "I only wish I could have broken his _other _limbs as well."

"You are so grounded, mister! Go to your room, while Jack and I decide on the full extent of your punishment!" Maddie pointed upstairs, her eyes narrowed.

"Your horrible, horrible, punishment." Jack spoke, nodding, almost as if to emphasize what Maddie had said.

"Whatever..." Danny rolled his eyes again, heading up to his room. _Geez, what am I, fourteen? Sending me to my room and grounding me... how very, very terrible. Tch, not like it stop me anyways. Unless they've changed the walls in my room to ghost-proof material, there's nothing they can do to keep me from escaping any damn time I want. _Danny smirked to himself, amused. For now, he didn't feel like going anywhere, so he simply flopped down on his bed, lying there, staring up at the ceiling. Most of his room was still covered in a fine layer of dust, as Danny hadn't done much re-discovering of it. The less of his old life experienced while here, the better. He didn't think he could ever restore his life to the way it had been, and nor did he honestly want too. He was different now, and as far as he was concerned, better. True, some might say that he had lost his mind, but that didn't really bother Danny. Insanity wasn't so bad, once you got used to it. In fact, it was really quite liberating.

"Ahhh, man... I need to hurry up and get out of here with Sam though. Once I get away with her, they'll loose any chance of re-capturing me. Sure, they could try and kidnap my family... but frankly, who cares about them?" He shrugged.

Downstairs, Maddie was pacing furiously, as Jack sat on the couch, watching her. She sighed, stopping, and placing her hand on her forehead, turning to her husband. "What do we do Jack? He disappears for four years, then magically reappears and gives us all this attitude! Not to mention that he's dyed a part of his hair, gotten his ears and tongue pierced, and he's gotten tattoos! Four of them!" She sighed in irritation. "And now he's gotten into a fight at school, and broke someone's arm! Where did he even learn to break someone's arm in the first place?" Maddie shouted, more to the ceiling than to anyone in particular.

"Now Maddie, I'm sure there's a perfectly logical explanation for all of this..." Jack said calmly.

"I know Jack, but I just..." She sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm just worried about Danny. What if he's been doing drugs, or worse?"

"Of course he hasn't! Ghosts don't need to drugs..." Jack said, his eyes shifting around the room. Maddie blinked, staring at him.

"You think Danny's a ghost?"

"I think a ghost has overshadowed our son and is using him now to weaken our defenses so he can open up the Fenton Portal and release a wild horde of ghosts that will run rampant through the world until they've completely and utterly destroyed it!" Jack shouted, quickly standing up, shaking his fists. "Curse you ghosts, curse yooouuuu!" Maddie stared blankly at her husband, who then coughed, dropping his fist and looking around the room. "Ahem... Yes."

"That would explain why he's been acting so strangely..." Maddie mused, placing her chin in her hand, one arm crossed over her chest and holding the other. She cast a suspicious look up the stairwell. "What do you think we should do, Jack?"

"We'll use the Fenton Ghost Weasel, and suck the ghost right out him!" Jack proclaimed loudly, pulling out the Ghost Weasel. Maddie blinked, staring at it.

"Jack, where were you keeping that?"

"I'd... rather not say."

"Riight... And I get the feeling I'd rather not know."

"No you don't. Now come on, let's charge!" Jack took off running up the stairs, leaving Maddie no choice but to follow after them. Danny, of course, had heard the commotion from his room. They were, after all, making a lot of noise. He had prepared himself, looking half-asleep on his bed. He knew that the Ghost Weasel, or other inventions like it, wouldn't do anything to him while he was still in human form. It would probably suck off some of his clothing, at best.

"Allright ghost, don't move!" Jack kicked the door open, looking down at it as it fell. "Maddie, remind me to get Jazz to put in a new door to Danny's room." He then turned his attention back to Danny, who was doing his best to look oh-so very shocked at the intrusion. "Eat hot Ghost Weasel!" Jack shouted, flicking on the suck switch. True to Danny's predictions, the only thing it sucked up were a few stray papers... and both of Danny's shirts. He raised an eyebrow then, locking at his confused father, who was now shaking, after turning it off, of course, the Fenton Ghost Weasel. "I don't understand, it should have sucked the ghost right out of you..."

"Unless, of course, there's no ghost in Danny." Maddie said slowly, embarrassed. "I'm sorry Danny, but your father and I... we just thought..." She blinked, trailing off as she caught sight of her son's torso. She had, of course, seen it many times before, feeling free to walk in on her son at any time. But now, she noted, that it was marred with the remnants of white scars, a few that looked like they had come from some type of razor object, and a few that looked like someone had sewn him open, then sewn him back up. The stitch scars were prominent around the upper chest area, where his heart and lungs were located. She knew Jack saw them to, from the indrawn breath she heard him take.

Danny shrugged, containing his urge to laugh at them. "Whatever. I can see how it's going to be like. After all, ghosts are the only things you two ever think about. Ghosts and punishing your children when they do something wrong by placing them in medieval torture devices..." Danny grinned, a hint of cruelty showing in his smile as he eyed his father. Danny remembered many times when, growing up, when he and Jazz had done something wrong, his father would always try and convince their mother to lock them up in the Fenton Stockades. Usually, though, it wound up being Jack trapped in the stockades, but he never did learn his lesson.

Maddie frowned. "Now Danny, you know that isn't true. We love you and Jazz very, very much, and we only want what's best for you."

Danny arched an eyebrow. "Oh, so attacking me with the Ghost Weasel and sucking up my shirts is what's best for me? Wow, I so feel like my future is secure. By the way, can I have them back now?" Danny said, stretching out his hand. Jack opened up the Ghost Weasel and pulled out the shirts, tossing them back to Danny, who donned them, hiding his scars from sight. "So, have you two decided on my punishment yet, or is suffering from another one of your stupid theories considered enough?"

"Danny, why are you acting like this?" Maddie sighed, moving over towards her son, trying to sit on the bed next to him. She stopped however, when she saw Danny glaring at her. A slight shiver ran up the women's spine. "I... Danny, we just want you to be honest with us... You know we'd love you no matter what, right?"

Danny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure."

"Your mother's right Danny. You are our son and we love you. We love you even more than we love hunting down and destroying ever ghost we can find... and then testing the remains! That's always fun." Jack said, chipperly, having forgotten exactly what he was talking about when he first started talking.

"And so dad's one-track mind kicks in again..." Danny said sarcastically to himself. "Now don't you two have some stupid theories to discuss? You're bugging me."

Maddie sighed and turned around, heading out of the door. "Come on Jack... we have work to do." She turned, giving on last look at her son then left the room, Jack following behind, still babbling on about ghosts.

Danny watched them go, rolling his eyes. "Finally..." He got up from his bed and picked up the door, placing it upright, then placing a nearby chair behind it so it didn't just fall over. Danny wanted his privacy, naturally. "Man, those two haven't changed a bit... I'll have to be more careful from now on though... That suspicion will still be creeping at the back of their minds, he knew. He would have to watch himself around their inventions. True, he wasn't afraid of them, not in the least bit. He simply didn't want to blow his chances of getting Sam. Knowing his father, if they learned he was half-ghost, it would be out all over the town in about two seconds as well, and the last thing Danny needed were more scientists and the paparazzi. There were three things Danny utterly despised in this world, and two of them were scientists and the paparazzi. He hadn't quite figured out what the third one was, but he was pretty sure he had a third extreme hatred.

"Danny?"

His eye twitched upon hearing the annoyingly familiar voice outside of the door. _That's right... I hate my nosy sister._ He sighed, annoyed. "What, Jazz?"

Jazz pushed the door back, sliding it and the chair along the floor until she could get into the room. "I heard the noise. I just wanted... to make sure you were okay."

"Just peachy. Now go psychoanalyze a toenail, would you?" Danny said, shooting a glare at her. Jazz frowned deeply and continued on into the room, moving to sit down on the bed. Unlike her mother, however, Jazz didn't stop the action when Danny glared at her again, plopping on the bed by him. "What now?"

"Danny, I want you to know that I'm here for you if you want to talk. About _anything_, even if you think I won't understand." She had, of course, heard about Danny's encounter with Dash, as well as his insulting of Paulina, the girl he once idolized. She could see that her little brother had gone through a drastic personality change, becoming more angry and prone to violence than the sweet, although somewhat naive boy she had used to share soda with. She was more than a little disturbed by the change, and she got the sense that Danny might not even be mentally stable anymore. If that was the case, then, she felt that if he didn't talk to someone about whatever had caused this, that he would completely loose his mind, and then there would be nothing anyone could do for him.

"I'm so sure you would Jazz. Now why don't you run along, back into your happy little giggly princess world, okay? You're making my ears bleed." Danny made a shooing motion with his hand, casually leaning back against the headboard of the bed. Jazz sighed deeply, looking her little brother straight in the eye.

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me, Danny." Jazz said, resolutely. Danny rolled his eyes, then looked down, noticing the blue wisp of smoke coming out from his mouth. Jazz caught it too, but passed it off as a trick of the light.

"Well, if you're not leaving, then I'm not staying." He got up and headed out and around the fallen door and the chair it was leaning on, walking straight past his protesting parents and out the door. He couldn't take the chance to let this ghost run rampant. After all, what if it was after Sam too?

Jazz frowned, getting up from her bed and following behind her brother, blinking in surprise as he ducked into the alleyway right by their house. She frowned, peeking in, half-hidden by one of the walls. Danny was standing there and she was about to call out to him when she noticed two icy blue rings of light surrounding her younger brother's waist, the two then splitting off. Jazz's jaw dropped as she saw that her brother had transformed into a white-haired teen, wearing black clothing, with hints of white. She squeaked out in surprise, which, unfortunately, Danny heard, turning around, his crimson eyes locking with hers.

"You!" He nearly spat the word out, moving towards Jazz. He blinked then, looking back, his eyes narrowing, hearing his parent calling for him. Before she could protest, Danny grabbed Jazz's arm, pulling her back into the alley-way and clamping a hand over her mouth as he made the two turn invisible. His parents passed by the alley way, peeking in, but, of course, seeing nothing. The two eventually headed back inside, irritated that their grounded son had simply up and left. Danny turned tangible then, and looked down at the slightly shaking girl in his arm. He grinned, almost amused, wondering if she had wet her pants. For some reason, the idea that his older sister was afraid of him really entertained him.

"Now... I'm going to let go of your mouth, and if you scream... Well, you don't want to know what will happen if you scream." He smirked and Jazz nodded, quickly. Danny removed his hand, letting the shocked girl tumble to the ground.

"You..." Jazz gulped, pointing her hand at the pale-faced teen in front of her. Despite her years as a skeptic, she instantly knew what the person in front of her was. A ghost. How else would he have been able to make them invisible? "Who _are_ you? And what have you done with my little brother!"

"Oh, it seems you have some backbone after all, Jazz." Danny raised an eyebrow, crouching down to look at her straight in the eyes. "I am your little brother." He said, not even bothering to keep the amusement out of his voice. "But if you tell anyone anything about me, well... Accidents do happen."

Jazz's eyes widened. "You wouldn't... Danny would never... He would never hurt me, or anyone!" Jazz pointed an accusatory finger at him, closing her eyes tightly, not wanting to see the cruel crimson eyes staring into hers.

"Hm. You might be right. But I would still be very, very mad at you..." He said, still sounding amused as he pushed down Jazz's hand.

"You can't be Danny... You just can't be..."

"Well what happened to being able to talk to you about anything, hm? Face it, sis. I'm your brother. Why don't you repeat after me? My brother is a freakish abomination, an insult to nature. A half-human, half-ghost hybrid." Jazz's eyes snapped open then, turning her head back around to face the ghost in front of her, stunned that _anyone _could say something like that about themselves. "They're the same words they told me back at The Institute, only with a few words changed to fit the newer purpose." He shrugged.

Jazz bit her lip. "How... how could you say that... about yourself?" She gulped out, still afraid, but she was suddenly starting to become more concerned for the mental status of the boy crouched in front of her, whether he was her brother or not.

The boy shrugged, almost casually. "Because it's true. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more important stuff to do than spend time sitting on the ground in an alleyway with my incredibly nosy older sister." Danny straightened out. Jazz's eyes widened again as the boy took off of the ground, floating in the air. "Ciao... and do keep your mouth shut, for once." With those words, he flew off, leaving a stunned Jazz on the ground.

"What on earth is going on around here...?" As well as Danny's fight with Dash, she had, of course, heard about the, of all things, the dragon attack at school. Her parents wouldn't stop talking about it, at least up until Lancer had called. And now there was Danny. With each passing moment, Jazz grew more and more convinced that the boy she was just speaking with was, in fact, her younger brother, her mind drifting back to the lab-accident four years back. "What if it did something to him?" She asked out loud, to no one in particular. She got up off the ground, dusting off her jeans. "And what's The Institute? Obviously something rotten..." Her eyes narrowed, thinking about what Danny had said about himself. It had seemed to her like he had taken those words to heart, and that they, and whatever The Institute was, had done damage to her brother. It was damage that she hoped could be eventually repaired.

"Half-human, Half-ghost hybrid..." She said, looking off in the direction her altered brother had flown off in. "Danny..." She sighed, heading back into the house, ignoring her parents questions and going into her room, looking the door. She sat on her bed, pulling her one studded animal, Bearbert close. She could feel herself starting to cry, for what, she wasn't quite sure. Maybe she was crying because she felt so awful that there was nothing she could have done to have saved Danny from whatever happened to him. Or maybe she was crying for the one she felt couldn't cry anymore. Either way, her tears wouldn't stop, not for a long time.


	6. Sam's Frustrations

AN: Yay, chapter Six! Mainly focusing on everyone's favorite ultra-reclyo vegetarian Goth, Sam! Sam's starting to figure things out, and then her parents smack her with some annoying and unexpected news. Man, but Sam's parents scare me. Those two could make some with a sweet addiction go into diabetic shock. I love making fun of Skulker's real form, can you tell? It always makes me laugh. I'm now calling Danny, when in ghost mode, Phantom, because I feel that it helps clarify things, so we'll always know which form he's in! Yep... I'm a genius. Either that, or I'm just having delusions of grandeur again...

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman. Now, if you two need me, I'm going to go bother Ember and Johnny 13, who are locked up in my closet.

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Six: Sam's Frustrations

Looking at the situation she had caught herself up in, eighteen-year old Samantha Manson decided that today just _wasn't _her day. Between worrying about her best friend's changes, getting captured by a Dragon Ghost, and wondering about Danny's connection to the strange new ghost, Phantom, her day had been less than ideal. Now she found herself bound at the wrists and ankles, as well as gagged, one of her own, and fortunately clean, socks shoved into her mouth behind the tape. Her captor, at first glance, appeared to be some sort of advanced robot, but on a second look, you could see that wasn't so. Sam, judging from the fact that they were now flying and that he had phased through her wall, had now determined her captor to be a ghost. He called himself Skulker, Ghost Zone's greatest hunter, which he had proclaimed loudly after capturing her.

Normally, Sam would have struggled to get away, but the fact that they were currently flying several feet up above the ground immediately ruled that option out as a really, really bad idea. So now she found herself pathetically awaiting rescue as well, something she didn't enjoy at all. But she had to keep her cool, panicking wouldn't help. It certainly helped that this ghost didn't look like it was going to eat her, as the last one had.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you that kidnapping is wrong?" Sam blinked, casting her eyes around the area as best she could upon hearing the familiar voice. She spotted Phantom, floating ahead of them, having intercepted the flight of Skulker.

"Didn't your mother ever tell you playing hero gets you killed?" Skulker snapped back, a laser cannon emerging from his right shoulder and firing at Phantom. Phantom skillfully dodged it, and eyebrow cocked.

"In case you haven't noticed, I'm already dead." _Well, mostly. _

"Well, it'll make you more dead!" Skulker shouted once again, a miniature rocket cannon popping up from his other shoulder, firing again at the ghost boy. Phantom, once again, skillfully avoided them. He turned back to Skulker, giving him an amused look.

"Man, that has got to be one of the worst comebacks I have heard. And believe me, I've heard a lot of sorry comebacks." Phantom smirked, raising his hand and preparing to fire at Skulker. Skulker, however, raised up the bound and gagged Sam in front of him. Phantom pulled back his hand, his eyes blazing in fury as he narrowed them. "Using a girl as a shield? That's pretty weak."

"I have my orders. I'm to take this girl back to The Institute. And I know you can't attack me, not as long as I have her in my grasp." Skulker said, a smirk forming on his own face, causing Phantom's eyes to narrow further, the ghost boy clenching his fists tightly, gritting his teeth.

_There must be some way to..._ Phantom looked around the area, then smirked. Someone had, oh so very conveniently, dropped a mirror in the middle of the road. _Ah... There we go._ "Well, I guess I'll just have to hit you where she's not." Phantom raised his hand again, firing at Skulker and the captive Sam, this time using a simple ecto-blast. The blast, however, went past Skulker and Sam, missing them both.

"Hah! You missed." Skulker shouted, amused. This new opponent talked big, but he couldn't even aim.

"Oh, did I?" One of Phantom's black eyebrows rose, grinning in amusement. A look of bafflement crossed Skulker's face.

"What do you mean by-GAH!" The ghost found himself being hurtled forward, the captured Sam hurtling out of his arms. "What did you do?"

Sam now found herself falling, for the third time this week. This too, was really getting old. She once again found herself unable to suppress the scream that was tearing itself from her lips, it sounding even through her gag, as she came closer and closer to the ground. However, she quickly found herself stopping mid-way, and let out a sigh of relief as she saw that Phantom had caught her. The ghostly teenager floated downwards, placing the girl on the ground, removing her bindings.

"You should go now." Phantom smiled slightly at her. "It's going to be quite dangerous..."

"Oh, and you think I can't handle the danger?" Sam said, sounding slightly offended. It was, at moments like these, when the feminist in her was kicked into a fury.

Phantom merely raised an eyebrow, grinning. "You've gotten captured twice in the same day, so yes. Don't let your pride get in the way of your common sense. Now, if you don't mind, I have to take care of the AI reject over there." Phantom motioned to Skulker, then turned away from Sam flying up into the air.

Sam watched him go, fuming silently. For as much as she hated the fact that he had sort of just insulted her, she knew he was right. It wasn't a good idea to stick around when there was a battle raging on between two ghosts just overhead. Still, she wanted to stay, she wanted to watch this Phantom person more. She wanted to try and find out what his connection with Danny was, because she was sure there was one. It was a feeling she had in her gut, her women's intuition, you could say. So she ducked behind the nearest car, a blue convertible, peeking out just slightly from it.

Her eyes watched the battle rage on. It seemed that most time, Phantom had the upper hand, but at the same time, there were times when it looked like Skulker was getting dangerously close to turning the tide. Every so often Phantom wasn't as quick to dodge, the most heart-stopping of those moments was when one of the lasers grazed his right arm, leaving a rather nasty wound that leaked green ectoplasm. Sam felt herself wince, sucking in her teeth at this. _That must have hurt..._

But in the end, to her delight, Phantom defeated Skulker, knocking it's metallic head straight off it's shoulders. The head landed in the car by Sam, and despite her better judgement, she couldn't resist peeking in. Now Phantom caught sight of her and frowned, but he wasn't too surprised. He did, after all, expect her to stay around. This was Sam, and she could be very, very stubborn. He saw her pull back in confusion, blinking.

"What the...?"

"What is it?" Phantom floated down by her, landing lightly on top of the car's windshield. Since he was a ghost, after all, there wasn't any need to worry about the windshield cracking under his weight. He was, after all, very light. He blinked then, catching sight of the same thing Sam had. "What the heck is that supposed to be!"

Phantom reached in, pulling out what looked to be a tiny blob of ectoplasm with arms and legs. It reminded him of a ghostly mutant frog, almost. Sam looked at it, her violet eyes wide.

"I have no idea."

"Put me down! I am Skulker, the Ghost Zone's Greatest Hunter!" The ecto-blob, which they now knew was Skulker's true from, protested, flailing it's free arms and legs.

"Right..." Phantom rolled his eyes. "I'm going to take this little," He stressed the little, "guy and put him back where he belongs. You be careful on your way back home, Sam."

Sam blinked, frowning. "How do you know my name?"

"I have my ways..." Phantom grinned at her, then took off, flying away with the ecto-glob that was Skulker in his hands before she could say another word.

Sam sighed in confusion and frustration, watching him fly off. He was still favoring his right arm a bit, although the ectoplasm had stopped flowing from it. Sam frowned, crossing her arms, and speaking out loud to herself. "I wonder if he'll be allright... Hm..." She sighed again, scratching her head, thinking. "Still, that shed no light on his connection with Danny..." She paused, her violet eyes narrowing in thought.

"Or maybe it did... There must be a reason two ghosts in a row have attacked me. Not only that, but Phantom knows my name, when I didn't tell him it. Granted, he could have overheard it somewhere, but that's not very likely..." She thought some more, now walking back towards her home. "What's The Institute? Sounds pretty creepy, whatever it is. And what do they want with me?" She looked up in the sky, towards the area that Phantom flew off too. "Or maybe it's not me they really want... Maybe I'm just bait..."

"But wait, why do they think I have any connection with Phantom? We just met this afternoon, when that first ghost attacked. But then why would that ghost just attack me? There were plenty of other people around... It could have just been a coincidence that it picked me." Sam shook her head. "No, that couldn't be. Phantom doesn't seem the type to go around saving just anyone, although I _could _be wrong about that. I do recall, from Mr. Fenton's ramblings, that when a ghost has red eyes, they're much more likely to be evil..." Her frown deepened, as she thought more on it. "But Phantom... doesn't seem entirely evil. He did save me, twice."

She paused then, stopping in her tracks. "But why?" Sam sighed out of frustration again. "Maybe I should just sleep on it..." Sam blinked, looking around, realizing that she had walked right past her house and now was standing in front of the Fenton's house. "I really have to start to pay attention to where I'm going..." She turned around, starting to head back to her house, then paused, looking back. "Maybe I should see if Danny's in..."

Sam went to the door, and knocked on it. A few moments later, Jack opened the door. "Uh, Hi Mr. Fenton. I was wondering if Danny was in?"

Jack glowered, looking angry. "No, he's not! He just walked out, even though we grounded him... And he made his sister cry! I told Maddie, if we wanted our grounded kids to stay put, we needed to use the Fenton Stockades!"

"I think using something like that is against the law..."

"And what, are you a lawyer now?" Jack's eyes shifted suspiciously around the area. "I never did trust lawyers... Always so... lawyer-y..."

"Geez, don't you and your conspiracy theories ever shut up?"

Sam blinked, trying to peek past Jack, but the large man pretty much took up the entire doorway. "Danny?" Now Jack moved, allowing her to see Danny leaning against the wall, giving her a mock salute.

"Hey."

"Danny! Do you know how much trouble you're in?" Jack said, completely ignoring the fact that Danny had somehow gotten into the room without anyone noticing.

"Yep. I just don't care, old man. So, what did you want to see me for, Sam?" He asked, turning towards Sam.

She blinked in surprise, noting that he seemed to be favoring his right arm as well, in the same place Phantom had gotten hurt. Not only that, but he had been gone for the past few minutes, and no one had seen him enter the house. _Of course they wouldn't. No one would see a ghost phasing through a wall. Arg, but this is crazy! How can Danny be a ghost?_

"Something wrong?" Danny asked, arching an eyebrow. Sam realized to her embarrassment that she had been standing there, staring at Danny.

"Ah, nothing. Just... wanted to... see you and... check on how you were doing?" _Great, if that doesn't make him suspicious..._

"I see..." Danny said, eyeing Sam carefully. _Is she on to me? Damn, that's not good. I'll have to be a little more careful from now on. That slip-up with her name wasn't good. Aren't I such a friggen genius?_

"Yep... And now that I can see that you are, I'll, uh, be going now! Bye Danny! Bye Mr. Fenton!" Sam waved nervously at the two then left, walking quickly back to her house. _He's catching on to the fact that I'm catching on... Great going Sam, you should have thought up an excuse before you knocked on the door! _She sighed, arriving at her home and headed up to her room. Fortunately, her parents were out today. _Maybe I should call Tucker..._

She picked up her purple and black cell phone, flipping it on and pulling up Tucker's number on the speed dial.

"Hello?" Tucker's voice came through on the other line. "What's up, Sam?"

"Hey Tucker. Look, I need to talk to you about Danny."

"About Danny?"

"Yeah. Don't you think he's been acting really odd lately? Like... he's not even Danny anymore."

"Well, he has been acting strange... What are you thinking, Sam?"

"Well, I don't know, what if Danny was somehow a ghost?"

"Hold on..." Sam could hear Tucker laughing on the other end of the line.

"It's not funny Tucker! I'm serious!"

"Oh come on Sam! Danny, a ghost? That's got to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. Danny might be acting strangely, but I doubt he's a ghost."

"You do remember Phantom from the cafeteria today, right?"

"Yeah, how could I forget?"

"Well, he's got the same scar as Danny, didn't you notice? It's not only that, but their hairstyles and voices are really similar too. And just a few minutes ago, he got injured in a fight against this Skulker ghost who was trying to kidnap me, and when I went to go check on Danny, he had the _exact_ same injury. Plus, Phantom knew my name."

"Whoa, wait, back up. You said a ghost was trying to kidnap you?"

Sam sighed, annoyed. "Yes, that's what I said. But that's _not _what we're talking about here."

"Right, we're talking about how you think Danny's somehow a ghost."

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Well, from what you said, it makes sense. But come on, how would something like that even be possible? Don't you think his parents would have noticed something if he was a ghost? He ran away Sam, he didn't die."

"Yeah, as far as we know. But remember that lab accident he got into the day before he vamoosed?"

"Yeah, how could I forget? Danny was so shaken up after that..." She could hear Tucker pause on the other end of the phone, and she could almost see it dawning on him. "You don't think that lab accident has anything to do with it?"

"I do."

"Sammie?" A voice called from downstairs and Sam winced, her parents had come home. She sighed in annoyance.

"I have to go Tucker. My parents are home."

"Right. I'll try and see if I can talk to Danny. See you at school Sam, provided we have it after a ghost dragon ripped off the roof to the cafeteria." Tucker's phone shut off on the other end, and Sam sighed, turning hers off.

"Sammie? Come down here, we've got great news for you!"

"Oh joy..." Sam said dryly, her eyes drooping. She headed down the stairs to face the chipper people that, by some freakish miscalculation, wound up being her parents. "What is it? Did you guys buy me more disgustingly pink and flowery dresses?"

"Even better!" Ms. Manson said, chipperly clapping her hands. "We found you a husband!"

Sam stared at her, not believing her ears. "Wait, what? You found me a _what!"_

"A husband! He comes from a very rich family with very high morals. His name is Matthew Clayborne. You're going to meet him this weekend!" Her mother said, squealing in delight, a sound that could make ears bleed.

"You arranged a marriage for me? _Nobody _does that anymore! I can't believe you two! What about my feelings!" Sam shouted angrily, her eyes narrowing.

"Your feelings would probably lead you to get married to that awful Danny boy. When we heard he was back in town, we rushed to make the deal with the Claybornes. Of course, you have to give up that whole 'Goth thing'." Her father said, making air quotes as he said the last two words.

"Excuse me? That's never going happen! And it's not a 'thing', it's who I am! Why can't you two just get that!"

"Oh, Sammie, we just want what's best for you!" Her mother smiled, oblivious to her daughter's anger.

"You... AGH! I can't believe you two!" Sam shouted, storming off and up to her room in anger, slamming the door shut and locking the it behind her. She flopped down on her bed, after throwing the pillow at the wall in anger. Things were just getting more and more complicated these days. She sighed, turning around to stare at the ceiling.

"What do I do...?"


	7. I Will Always Love You

AN: Yay, Chapter Seven! Cute brother and sister scenes between Danny and Jazz, as well as a very brief glimpse into The Institute. Originally, I didn't plan on writing this chapter, and I definitely didn't plan on taking the angle I did towards the end of the story, but now I'm glad I did! It just makes life so, so much more complicated for everyone's favorite mentally unstable halfa!

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman. Now, if you all need me, I'll be squealing over my brand new cell phone!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Seven: I Will Always Love You

Jazz stood outside Danny's room, gathering up her courage. She took a long, deep breath, then let it out. After having thoroughly cried her eyes out, she decided to talk to Danny. She knew she had too, although for once in her life, she was staring to feel really un-easy about it. It was getting late now, and she knew she would probably have to wake him up. She quietly pushed the door in, it still hadn't been fixed, and crept into the room.

It was dark, all the lights were out, and Danny was curled under the bed-covers, asleep. Jazz simply stood there for awhile, looking at the sleeping form of her younger brother. He looked so peaceful now, and she couldn't stop herself from reaching down a hand and brushing some of his hair. The boy twitched a little, but still slept.

_He always was a deep sleeper..._ She smiled, then blinked, frowning, feeling something with her hands. _Huh?_ She ran her hands over the strange object again. She quickly came to the realization that it was his ear. She peered down, just barely making out in the darkness the shape of a pointed ear. _Why didn't I notice that before? Oh... that's right. He was wearing a hat. Ah, Danny, you really should be more careful. You know how parents are, they like to come in and watch their children sleep. Really creepy..._

Jazz blinked, smacking herself on the forehead. _And that's exactly what I'm doing! Great, I'm turning into my mother... Next thing you know, I'll be running around wearing a Hazmat._

"Mmmm..."

Jazz blinked, looking down at her younger brother. At first, she thought he might have been waking up, but she saw that he was still asleep. She frowned then, noticing that he had started to sweat, one of his hands twitching. "He's having a nightmare..." Jazz moved to shake him awake, then paused. Danny had started to mumble in his sleep.

"Stop... _Stop! _Get away from me! Don't touch me, you damn bastards!" Her brother growled, sounding almost like a feral creature. "I am not a monster..." His voice shifted into a whisper, just loud enough for Jazz to hear. Jazz frowned, now moving to shake her brother on the shoulder.

"Danny? Danny, wake up!" Her brother's eyes flickered open, flashing a bright shade of crimson in the darkness, before they dulled and went back to his typical azure color. He pulled himself up from the bed, looking disoriented for the moment. Jazz took her hand off his shoulder. Even though the room was still dark, her eyes had gotten used to it by now, and she noticed that her brother was sleeping shirtless. Her frown deepened as she noticed the numerous fading scars on his torso. "Danny?"

Now realizing where he was, Danny turned to glare at his older sister. "What are you doing in here?" His eyes narrowed. "Watching me sleep, like some sort of creepy stalker?"

"Sticks and stones Danny. I came in here to talk with you, like I said I would."

"In the middle of the night?" Her brother arched an eyebrow.

"Yes, in the middle of the night." Jazz said, sounding resolute. "And don't even _try _to get out of it, Danny. You need to talk, and you know it, don't you?"

Danny rolled his eyes. "Nope. I'm fine."

"Don't lie to me Danny. You're _not _fine. I'm you're sister, I can tell these things."

Danny's eye twitched. _That's the problem. You're too damn attentive. Why couldn't I have a normal sister, one who doesn't give a hoot? But nope. I had to get the naggy psychologist wanna-be sister._ "So what, are you going to hang all over me until I do talk?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, good luck with that. I don't even plan to stick around this trash heap." Danny smirked at her, leaning back against the headboard, resting his head against his arms which were crossed behind it.

"So why did you come back?" Jazz said, crossing her arms and staring at her brother, eye to eye.

"Like I'd tell you." Danny rolled his eyes. "Now scat, would'ja?"

"So you can have more nightmares?" Jazz said, cooly. Her brother's eyes widened a bit, then quickly changed into a glare. Jazz smiled inwardly, getting the feeling that she had found a point in which she might be able to make him talk from.

"You heard?" Danny's eyes narrowed further when he saw his sister nod. "_What_ did you hear?"

"You yelling at for someone to get away from you, you growling, and then you mumbling that you weren't a monster. Which, as I recall from this afternoon, is in great contrast from what you told me to think. I'm not stupid Danny. You may be hiding from everyone else how much you hate yourself, but you can't hide it from me."

"I _don't _hate myself. What I hate is all you stupid humans!" Danny growled out, not realizing his mistake.

Jazz's eyebrows shot up. "Humans, Danny? You're human too."

"_Pfft_. Hardly. More like a sub-human freak..." He trailed off, then frowned, realizing that Jazz had tricked him into talking. "Hey! You stupid little..."

"Danny, you're not a sub-human freak, no matter what those people told you." Jazz frowned, moving to sit on the bed next to her little brother. Danny shot her a glare, but she ignored it. "I'm not sure what The Institute is, but I know whatever they told you, it isn't true. You're a good kid Danny, and I know that. You've just had some terrible things happen to you, haven't you?" She smiled sadly at her brother, reaching out and touching one of the nastier scars that covered his chest.

Danny's eyes narrowed, and he quickly grabbed his sister's wrist, pulling it off of the scar. His eyes narrowed, changing into a crimson shade in his anger. "You know, I could break you're wrist right now, _dear sister._"

"You could... but I don't think you will." Jazz stared at him, keeping her eyes level with his. She let no fear show on her face, and she truly wasn't afraid, because she knew that her brother would not hurt her, despite what he said.

Danny returned her stare, then sighed in disgust, dropping his sister's wrist. Somehow, he couldn't do it, he couldn't hurt her. And she _knew _it, too! She was so frustrating! Normally, someone would freak out, either from the threat, or the crimson eyes. They would call him a freak, and run away as fast as possible. That was how humans were, Danny had always tried to convince himself of that. That's how they react to someone who is different. His mind dirtied off, heading back to times he would rather forget...

_"You're not a human. Someone like you isn't worthy of being called one." The women in front of him said, her arms crossed, and her eyes as cold as stones. "You are no longer Danny Fenton. Everyone you used to know wouldn't want you around anymore. You're a number now, that's all you are, that's all you ever can be. 6821. You belong to us now, and we can do whatever we like with you. You're not fit to be let out into the human world."_

_"But I am human!" He heard, in his mind, his younger self protest, struggling against the strange glowing green bonds, clamped to his ankles, that were holding him to the floor._

_The women laughed, a cruel, amused laugh. "Oh my dear, dear boy. You might have once been human, but you can never be again. You're a freak. A sub-human monster, not even worthy enough to lick my feet with your tongue!"_

_"I'm not a monster..."_

_"Of course you are, you stupid boy! What kind of human can walk through walls? What kind of human can turn invisible, or fire off blasts of ectoplasmic energy? No human can. I mean, look at yourself!" The women smirked, picking up a slender silver device, pressing a button on top of it. The glowing iron clamps let off a shockwave, the shockwave forcing Danny, against his will, to shift into his ghost mode. "Not breathing, no heartbeat. You're a ghost. No, you're not even that. You're merely half of one. Half-alive, half-dead, belonging to neither world! You're a freak, no matter where you go."_

"Danny?"

Danny snapped out of his thoughts, turning back to his sister. She was frowning now, looking worried. Danny had suddenly stopped talking, his eyes looking distant, and she knew he was remembering something that was probably very painful for him.

"Oh, you're still here?" Danny said cooly, as if nothing was wrong with him. But he couldn't fool her, she knew that he was hurting.

"Danny... talk to me, please."

"Why should I?" He glared at her. "Even if I did, for some weird reason, you'd only reject me! You, mom, dad, and everyone else, none of you could ever understand! I'm different from you guys and I can never go back to being normal! I'm part ghost. I'm _half dead! _Do you know what that's like? No, you don't! You can't know what that's like..." He trailed off, not realizing that in his outburst, he had started to give Jazz some clue.

"Danny..." Jazz moved closer to her brother, and took hold of one of his hands. "I would never, ever reject you, no matter what. You're right, I might not be able to understand everything you're going through, but that doesn't mean I won't try. I love you, and nothing can ever change that."

Danny laughed, bitterly. "How can I trust you? How can I trust any of you?"

"You can trust me because I'm your sister Danny. I would never betray you. I would never abandon you. Your half-ghost, so what? You don't breathe sometimes, but so what? That doesn't change the fact that I care you. That wouldn't change the fact for mom, or dad, or Tucker, or Sam, or any of them, either. Like I said before, Danny, I don't know what those people said or did to you, but they were wrong."

Danny pulled his hand from his sister's grip, looking away from her. "Get out..."

Jazz sighed, and got up. She was glad that she had managed to get somewhere with Danny, but she was upset that she hadn't gotten any further. She walked towards the door, then paused, turning back to look at her younger brother. "I won't tell anyone, Danny. I'll wait for you to do that on your own." She smiled at him, despite the glare he shot at her, and left the room, pulling the door back into position.

She sighed, heading into her room. Now, more than ever, she wanted to know what The Institute was. She flicked on her computer, pulling up a search engine, typing in the words. She frowned, as she scanned through the results, not finding anything that would explain anything. _Not that I actually thought I would find anything. I mean, seriously, who would put information about something like that on the Internet? It must be top secret, whatever it is._

She frowned, leaning back into her chair. "Maybe there's a chance that mom and dad know something about it? I mean, if these people knew about ghosts, then there's a chance that mom and dad would know maybe a few things about it..."

She found herself yawning, and got up from her chair, pacing the room. She peered out of her window, leaning out against the railing and staring at the starry sky. She took a deep breath of the chill night air, trying to keep herself awake. She needed to think on things, she couldn't be falling asleep right now. She found herself yawning again, to her annoyance. She sighed in irritation, knowing that she had to go to bed. Now that she thought about it, it might actually do her some good. Sleeping on a problem always helped her think of new things she might not have previously.

"Okay, I'll go to sleep, and think on the rest of this tomorrow." She said to herself, as she changed into her pajamas, tucking herself into bed. She quickly fell asleep, into a deep, deep sleep. It didn't wake her up when her window was opened from the outside. It didn't wake her up when she was being lifted from the bed, and it didn't wake her up when she was pulled out of the window, and carried away from her home.

Morning came on the Fenton household.

And Jazz was gone.


	8. Kidnapping and Marriage

AN: Woot, Chapter Eight! Meh, not to fond of the title, but I couldn't think of anything else! Love this chapter though, especially Danny talking to himself. It's always fun when he does that. Things are starting to go to hell in a handbasket (who came up with that saying?). The Institute is finally wearing it's ugly head in a much more direct fashion.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but that scientist women does! Yes, she does have a name, and if you're really smart, you might have already figured out her last one. I was originally going to have her wear glasses, but I figured that would be way too cliched, so I didn't. Now, if anyone needs me, I'm going to be traveling back in time, and killing the person who invented school, saving us all from long, long years of torment!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Eight: Kidnapping and Marriage

"Great... Morning."

Seventeen-year old Danny Fenton mumbled drowsily, annoyed at the fact that the sun was shining. "Damn, why does it always have to be so early?" He blinked then, and turned his head towards his door, his sensitive ears picking up an unusual amount of noise from downstairs. He frowned, and tugged on his hat and moved the door aside, making a mental note to actually fix the damn thing later. It was getting really annoying.

He sighed, and looked down the stairwell, his arms hanging loosely over the railing. From here he could see the living room, where he found his parents sitting and talking to two cops. Danny arched an eyebrow, idly wondering where his older sister was. Usually anything that involved the so-called 'adults' of the family, also involved Jazz as well. Although she was technically an adult now, Danny couldn't see her any other way than a nosy older sister, who never acted her age. It was kind of scary how much better she was at being a parent than her parents. Although not nearly as scary as the fact that his dad had an action figure of himself...

He frowned and headed down the stairs. "What's going on down here? Yer so noisy, you woke me up." Danny said, popping his knuckles by pressing them down on his neck. Maddie and Jack looked up, and he noticed that his mother had been crying, her eyes still red. He blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Your sister... is gone." Maddie said, forcing her eyes to stay dry. "We think she was kidnapped."

"Kidnapped...?" Danny stared at them blankly, then his azure eyes widened, recalling the events of last night. His eyes narrowed, the pattern forming in his mind. "Damn!" Of course they had gone after her, she simply knew too much. They must have kidnapped her using a human, because otherwise his ghost sense would have warned him.

The two officers and the two adult Fentons exchanged a look. "You... wouldn't happen to know where she might be, Danny?"

Danny shot them a look. "No, not really."

"Then what do you know?" One of the officers asked, raising an eyebrow. "Don't lie to us kid, it's obvious you know something about this."

Danny looked at the two police officers. No doubt they had taken one look at him and decreed him to be a no-good, dirty, rotten, criminal punk, so of _course _he had something to do with his sister's disappearance. "I know she likes sticking her nose in places it doesn't belong." Danny snapped at them. "Now if any of you need to ask me any more stupid questions, I'll be in the bathroom. Which, in other words, means don't bother me." Shooting a final look at the assembled quartet, Danny marched upstairs, slamming the door to the bathroom and locking it shut.

He sighed, pulling off his hat and shaking out his hair, running a hand through the dual-colored bangs that hung over his left eye. "And people wonder why I hate humans... Dirty, rotten, corrupt, judgmental little brats..." He muttered under his breath, in irritation. "What the hell makes em think I'd kidnap my sister? Sure, I know who did, but it's true, I _don't _know where she is. Sure, I escaped from the place, put that doesn't mean I have any bloody idea where it is. It's not like I was exactly paying any attention to the street signs."

"Yeah, I could have told them who had her, but then they would have started to ask questions I'd prefer not to answer. And then it would probably somehow end with me being arrested for something I didn't even do." Danny continued to talk to himself, it was something he tended to do more and more often lately. Then again, it wasn't too surprising. Besides Sam, he was the only other person around to have an enjoyable conversation with.

"Whatever... I'll look for her later." As much as Danny's sister annoyed him, he knew that leaving her in the clutches of The Institute was the worst fate you could possibly condemn someone too. Sure, Jazz was human, but that wouldn't stop them from giving her that good old hospitality that they possessed.

* * *

"Is he always like that?" One of the cops muttered, looking up at the stairs the lanky teenager had just gone up minutes ago. Maddie let out a long sigh.

"He didn't use to act like that, not before he pulled the disappearing act four years ago."

The cops' eyes raised, the two exchanging a look. "Disappearing act? So this isn't the first time one of your kids has gone missing?"

"Yes, but Danny just ran away..." Maddie trailed off, frowning. What if Jazz and Danny's disappearances were somehow connected after all? Danny mysteriously reappears, and then three days later, Jazz vanishes, the only clue left on the scene being an open window. She found herself having to agree with the police on the fact that Danny _did _seem to know more than he was willing to let on.

Maddie bit her lip. _What if Danny is involved in this somehow? No! No way Maddie, don't even think it. Your son might have changed a little... well, a lot, but he'd never be involved in a kidnapping. He's not that kind of person... _She frowned. _To be honest though, I'm having trouble figuring out what kind of person he is..._

"You don't think Danny had something to do with it?" She asked the cops, hiding the nervousness she felt. She really didn't want to think of her son as someone like that, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong with this.

"He knows something, that's for sure." The male cop scratched the back of his neck, one of his eyes closed. "If the lab tests come back with nothing, we may have to take him into the station for questioning."

"Good luck with that. He hasn't answered any of our questions either..." Maddie muttered, rather annoyed at how secretive her son had become as lately. They used to share all kinds of secrets, so this really hurt her. It made her feel as if Danny couldn't trust her anymore. As a matter of fact, it made her feel like Danny felt that he couldn't trust _anyone _anymore. She had managed to talk to Sam and Tucker about it, but they said he hadn't said anything to them either.

"You mean you don't know where he ran off too?" The female cop raised an eyebrow.

"Nope! He's being more tight-lipped than something with really, really tight lips..." Jack muttered.

"I see..."

It was then that Danny, washed and dressed came downstairs. He took one look at the staring quartet and rolled his eyes, heading out the door.

"Danny! Where are you going? You're grounded and suspended from school, so you have no reason to be leaving this house." Maddie said, her lips narrowing into a tight frown.

"Sure..." Danny gave her an amused grin, as if her rules simply meant nothing. "I'll remember that when I'm ready to care." He left then, closing the door behind him. Maddie and Jack got up off the couch, flinging the door back open, preparing to simultaneously yell at their son, but he had simply vanished.

* * *

"Danny's not here today?" Sam asked, looking around the hallway.

Tucker shook his head. "No, I heard he got suspended."

"That's good... I don't know how he'd react to my news..."

Tucker raised an eyebrow. "What news? That he's a ghost? I think he already knows that Sam."

Sam rolled her eyes. "No, of course not _that."_ She sighed, in annoyance. "It's my parents. They've gone and done something really stupid again."

"How stupid?"

"Arranged marriage stupid."

Tucker stared blankly at Sam, for once, speechless. "...You're kidding..."

"If I was kidding, I would have picked a better joke." Sam said dryly, leaning against her locker. "To some guy I've never met named Matthew Clayborne. Apparently, he comes from a rich family with 'very high morals'. And when my parents say something like that, you can only imagine..." Sam rolled her eyes, shuddering inwardly as she remembered her parents morals. Be kind to everyone, unless they don't fit into your perfect idea of how people should be, was their mantra.

"Man... I didn't even know people still _did _that anymore! What is this, the Middle Ages? That's gotta suck, Sam. Can't you find any way out of it?"

"Believe me, I'm trying. I'm supposed to meet him on Saturday, which, unfortunately, is tomorrow."

"You should try acting like someone the guy would never want to be with, and they're sure to call off the wedding. Sure, your parents will probably ground you for forever, but it'd be worth it."

"That's actually a good idea, Tucker." Sam blinked, staring at him. "The world must coming to an end, if I'm getting good from you."

"Hey! I'll have you know that I-" Tucker suddenly lost his voice and turned pale, which caused Sam to frown, confused.

"What is it?"

"Uh, Behind you..." Tucker pointed weakly, and Sam turned around, nearly jumping in surprise to see Danny standing there, arms crossed, with an annoyingly amused look on his face.

"Oh... hi Danny. Didn't see you there." Sam said, sounding slightly nervous. She hadn't heard him come up, and from the look on Tucker's face, she got the feeling that Tucker might not have seen him coming up himself.

"Eh, You wouldn't have." Danny shrugged, rather nonchalantly. "Anyways, I just came to check in on my favorite person." Sam blinked, and looked around the hallway. "You, stupid." His grin only widened at the surprise Sam's eyes showed.

"Uh... heh. Um, aren't you suspended?" Sam gulped, nervously. She hadn't expected Danny to say something like that to her, and she couldn't tell if he was being serious, or if he was just joking. She honestly wouldn't put it past him, especially not with that amused look on his face. "You could get in trouble if Lancer catches you here..."

"You're quite correct, Ms. Manson." Standing behind the trio now, was a very disapproving Lancer, his eyes narrowed and his lips pulled into a tight frown. "It seems that maybe a week's suspension just isn't good enough for you, is it, Mr. Fenton?"

Danny laughed then, smirking at the balding man. "You actually think suspending me is a _punishment?_ All it does is give me leave to do whatever I want, all day long. You guys should _seriously _consider overhauling your punishment system, cause it's obviously not working."

"Then why did you come back to school?" The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Were you getting bored of doing whatever you wanted, all day long already?"

Danny's smirk only grew. "For your information, Mr. Lancer, I came to see Sam. Actually, that's only reason I agreed to go back to school in the first place. That, and the opportunity to beat up Dash, as he so rightly deserved. How's the little crybaby doing anyways?"

Sam found herself turning a lovely shade of beet red, embarrassed that Danny was saying all of those things about her. _Is he telling the truth? Or is he just saying all of this to annoy Mr. Lancer? I hate feeling clueless..._

"I suggest you leave now, Mr. Fenton, before I have to call your parents." Mr. Lancer said, staring down the student.

"Oh please, like they could do anything." Danny rolled his eyes. "Anyways, it's getting to old and obese around here, so I'll catch you later Sam." Danny turned back to the girl, flashing a smile at her, before he turned back around, tucking his hands into his pockets and heading off down the hall.

Mr. Lancer sighed, watching him go. "I honestly don't know what's gotten into that boy..." He shook his head, heading back towards his class, leaving a confused Sam and Tucker behind.

"...Was Danny just hitting on you?" Tucker asked, once he regained his voice.

"...I... think so."

"That's weird..."

Sam only nodded, then blinked, remembering Danny's sudden appearance. "Hey, Tucker, did you see Danny coming?"

Tucker shook his head, recalling. "No, he just seemed to pretty much appear from nowhere. Of course, I wasn't paying that much attention either, but, yeah..." Tucker looked in the direction Danny had gone. "Do you really think he's a ghost?"

"Well, what other explanation could there be?" Sam asked. Tucker shrugged, having no answer to that. "Should we tell his parents?"

"Are you kidding? What do you think they'll say if we tell them that we think their son's a ghost? More importantly, what do you think they'd _do?"_ Tucker asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Good point..." Sam frowned. "So, what?"

"I don't know, Sam. I just don't know..."

* * *

"An arranged marriage, huh?" Danny muttered to himself, as he headed out of the school. He had been listening in on Sam and Tucker, invisibly, ever since Sam had said something about her parents doing something stupid again. His eyes narrowed. "Clayborne... why does that sound so damn familiar?" Danny sighed in irritation, scratching his head.

"If this Matthew kid thinks he can take Sam away from me, he'll soon find himself to be sorely mistaken. Sam is _mine_, and I'm going to make sure he and his parents know it too. And I'll probably let Sam's parents know that fact as well..." Danny smirked, his eyes changing into a crimson color, signifying the mischievous and malevolent thoughts running through his mind.

"Sounds like Saturday is going to be a real blast..." He muttered to himself, sounding amused. His mood, however, rapidly shifted, as it returned to the matter that had originally sent him out of the house. Finding his older sister.

* * *

Jazz's eyes slowly blinked open, moaning. For some reason, she was freezing cold. She pulled herself up of the metal floor, rubbing her head, then blinked.

"Wait... a metal floor?" Her eyes opened fully, snapping awake in an instant. She looked down, finding her ankles were clamped to the floor. She was locked in a metal-walled room, which apparently had the air conditioning on at full blast. Jazz found herself rubbing her arms, as she scanned the walls. She turned around to look at the wall behind her, and blinked, stunned.

Scrawled all over the wall behind her was her brother's hand-writing. Her eyes scanned over the markings on the wall. There was a long list of tick marks, Jazz didn't even want to begin to count them all. Along with those, there were some messages scribbled along the wall, which she read out loud.

"Not a monster... Leave me alone..." The messages started out sounding depressed and desperate, but as she got further along they shifted into more angry ones. "Keep yer stinkin hands offa me, you rotten bastards... When I get out, I'm..." She blinked, staring at the four words left in the sentence. "I'm... gonna kill you all?"

"Yes, he did get _quite _feisty." Jazz turned around rapidly, turning to face the voice. It was a women, her brown hair cropped short, wearing a short white lab-coat, and a cream colored mini-skirt. "He never did kill us all, though. Just fled the place. Such a shame too, he was our favorite after all." The women sighed, sounding disappointed.

"I... what am I doing here!"

"Oh dear, it's quite simple, really." A malicious smirk spread across the women's face, one that made Jazz's blood run cold. "You knew too much."


	9. The Declaration of a Demigiest

AN: Whoa... I had so much deja vu in the first half of this chapter, and then it came to realize that I once had a dream of a situation similar to this, just with different characters... How weird is that? Man, there I go, prophesying totally random stuff in my dreams again... "Demigiest", by the way, is a term my friend Morgan came up with. We love tweaking around with each other's ideas. Man, and this is the second time I've left it off on a cliffhanger like this, haven't I?

Have I mentioned how much I love writing Danny in this? He goes from a cocky bastard, to an angry, bitter person, to a feral creature, to someone who just doesn't understand anything around him anymore, to someone who's the weakest person out of all the characters in the story. It's so much fun! This chapter is especially fun because he pretty much goes through all of the above!

Check it, new pictures! Okay, well one old sketch that I colored, and one new pictures, but hey, they're still pictures! Remember to take out the spaces!

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 29880656 /

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 29787785 /

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, however, May Clayborne does. Steal her and... wait, why would you even w_ant _to steal someone like her?

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Nine: The Declaration of a Demigiest

"I knew too much?" Jazz asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Of course. That's how it always is, sweetie. When someone knows to much we... take steps to make sure they disappear." The woman smiled cruelly, from the look in her eyes, Jazz could tell she was enjoying this.

"You're not going to get away with this! You're not going to get away with kidnapping me, and you're not going to get away with having kidnapped Danny, either. Or whatever you did to him in this place."

The woman laughed. "Oh my dear girl, we've been getting away with this for a long, long time. Our family has been getting away with it for over forty years." The ablated look on Jazz's face only made the women laugh more. "Oh, you wonder how? Well, it's quite easy when you have the right connections."

Jazz's mouth opened and closed, trying to form the words she wanted to say, but found she wasn't quite able too. The woman, however, got the gist of what she wanted to say, and smiled, amused.

"Do you want to know how far we go? You're probably hoping that we don't go as far as you fear, but your fear is right. We go all the way to the top. All the way to the executive branch of the Untied States Government. After all, what we do helps them keep the freaks off the streets."

"Like Danny." Jazz found her voice again, her eyes narrowing.

"_Especially _like Danny." The woman sneered. "The most unique out of all of our patients. Yes, we have many others. Danny was number 6821. It's tattooed on both of his wrists, along with the barcode that signifies that he is our property."

"_Excuse me? _Property? Danny is _not _you property! He doesn't belong to anyone but himself!"

"Ah, how naive you are. You're brother does indeed belong to us. He was captured and sold to us by a couple of the government's top ghost hunters."

"You're sick..."

"I know, but thank you anyways." The woman smiled. "Now, you'll be a good little girl while you're here, won't you? Make up for how awful your brother acted during his three year stay here. Honestly, he was one of the most ill-behaved patients we had! Of course, it probably helped that he was much more resistant to the control chip than the others. It got to the point where we couldn't even use it on him at all."

The woman shrugged. "Then again, it wasn't like he exactly had that much of a mind left when he _did _break free from it. How's his mental status doing now, I wonder? It's been a year since I've got to see him, I do wonder if he's acting less like an... animal."

"What are you talking about?" Jazz's eyes narrowed further, from confusion.

"Oh, I suppose he is acting better then." The woman mused, then kneeled down next to Jazz, making sure she was well out of range of her hands. She placed her hands along the floor, running them over marks in the floor's surface, as if something had been scratching it up. "It was quite pesky when he grew those claws. Always had to keep them trimmed. But then again, Demigiests are always annoying..."

"...Demigiests?" Jazz asked, confused, looking at the claw marks on the floor. She did remember her brother having black claw-like fingernails from when he was in ghost form.

"Oh, you don't? It's a ghost that becomes... something similar to a poltergeist. It's usually what happens when they loose their minds." The woman got back up, brushing off her lab coat. "They're typically more powerful than ghosts, although much weaker than poltergeists and vengeful spirits."

"You made him that way, didn't you?"

"I suppose you could say that. I like to think of it as making him much closer to what he really is. A monster."

"The only monster here is you, you and everyone else here like you." Jazz said, her tone dark. The woman frowned.

"Brave words coming from a girl who's been kidnapped. You should be careful what you say dear, around here, words like that can get you killed." The woman smiled cruelly at her. "Now, I have other affairs to attend to." The woman turned around, heading towards the door. "Oh yes, and if for any reason at all you should need me, ask for Miss May Clayborne. I'll be happy to come and make your life as miserable as possible." The woman left then, closing the heavy metal door behind her.

* * *

Danny sighed in irritation, flopping against a park bench. He had spent most of the day trying to find Jazz, but to no avail. He had searched everywhere in the city and outside of it as well, within a ten mile radius.

"_Gah! _Why the hell am I even wasting my time looking for her anyways! I don't even like her..." Danny muttered, running a hand through his hair in irritation. He got up from the park bench suddenly, and started to pace. "You know, who even cares if Jazz got kidnapped? She had it coming, with all her prying!"

He sighed, stopping his pacing and crossing his arms. "Then again, It's not like she was exactly advertising the fact. She wasn't walking around saying, 'Hey, I know too much, come and kidnap me!'. Arggg..." He rubbed his head again, something he tended to do when annoyed. "Why do I have this stupid conscience still anyways? I thought I had gotten rid of it..."

He grumbled, obviously not happy that he had any moral thoughts at all, doubly so considering the moral thoughts he was having didn't even currently involve Sam. If he was going to consider someone else's feelings, they were going to be Sam's feelings, dammnit, not his sister's!

"Danny?" Sam's voice broke his thoughts. She had spotted him pacing and talking to himself in the park, and possibly against her better judgement, decided to go and talk to him. She was still debating whether or not she should confront him with what she knew about his secret.

_Speak of the angel... _Danny grinned, looking at Sam. "Hey Sam." Danny cast his eyes around the area. "Where's Tucker?" Honestly though, Danny was glad to have Sam alone.

"He had to go home early. What are you doing here?" Sam asked. "I thought you were grounded."

Danny shrugged. "Eh, grounding. It doesn't do anything, so why even bother with it? 'Sides, it's not like they can exactly keep me in my room."

"Because you'd phase through the wall, right?"

Danny stared at her, his eyes going wide momentarily, then narrowing. "_Excuse me!_ What did you just say?"

Sam gulped, realizing too late that what she had meant to keep in her head had slipped out of her mouth. "Ah... nothing?"

"Sam, don't lie to me." Danny stared at her, his cool azure eyes making chills run up her spine.

Sam sighed, it was best that she just come out with it. "And don't you lie to me, Danny. I know you're not what you say you are, and I'm hoping you are who you say you are." Sam's violet eyes narrowed in suspicion. She was sure that the boy in front of her was Danny, but she couldn't shake a subconscious feeling that maybe he really wasn't.

Danny sighed in frustration, crossing his arms and staring intensely at Sam. "Allright. I'm not what I've said I am. I'm not like you, or Tucker, or Jazz, or anyone else in this rat hole of a town."

"So then what are you?" Sam stared at him intensely. "I've put two and two together Danny. I know that somehow or another, you're Phantom, as well as being Danny. I don't understand it, but I know it's true."

Danny sighed. "I'm a hybrid. Half-ghost, half-human. It was my parents freaky portal that did it to me. That's why I ran away." Danny looked at her, a slight annoyed tone coating his next words."You happy now?"

"Danny, don't get mad at me." Sam said, crossing her arms and staring the boy down. _A ghost hybrid? Is that even possible? It must be. So that's why he ran away... _"I'm a little upset you didn't tell me though. You _know _you're still my friend, no matter what, right? I'd never abandon you because of something like that, and neither would any of the other people who care about you, like Tucker and your parents." Sam smiled at him.

Danny laughed, smirking from amusement. "I didn't think someone like you would be so naive, Sam." Danny moved in closer to her, taking her chin in his right hand, and pulling it closer to him. "Whatever they think doesn't even matter. It's only _you _that matters, Sam. Only you, and no one else, never anyone else. You're the only reason I came back after all."

Normally, Sam would have wrenched herself away from his grasp, but she was simply to stunned to take any action. She simply started at him, her violet eyes wide, her mouth hanging open. She closed it quickly and gulped, words racing incoherently through her mind. She tried to open her mouth to say something, to say anything, but no words came out.

Danny smirked and pulled her up close, landing a kiss on her opened lips, briefly slipping his tongue into her mouth. Sam's eyes only widened further, a blush spreading across her cheeks. The kiss, however, managed to startle her out of her stillness and she stumbled back, continuing to stare at the boy in shock.

Danny laughed at her reaction, and crossed his arms, cocking his head like an amused animal. "You see Sam, I never did want to be 'just friends' with you. You're the only person I really care about anymore. Nobody else matters than you, and that includes myself. You're my number one, and you're mine, now and forever, whether you want to be or not. Cause I won't take no for an answer."

Sam stumbled another few steps back at that, stunned. It didn't seem to her that Danny was simply still in love with her, rather, he was _obsessed _with her. Her hand moved slowly up to her lips, placing it on them gently. He had left her lips feeling ice cold, and she quickly removed her hand from them. "Danny... you... I..." She stuttered out, then took a deep breath, biting her lip to help her focus. "This way... I don't know..." It was no use, she couldn't seem to get the words out right, no matter how hard she tried. She was still in shock from the discovery of Danny's secret, the declaration of love, and the kiss, the latter being the main cause of her current state.

Danny, however, jumped to his own conclusions from Sam's unfinished sentence, his eyes narrowing and turning a deep crimson read shade. "Oh, so you don't like me like this, do you?"

"No, Danny, that's not what I mean!" Sam protested, her eyes going wide.

"Save it! I understand all too well. It's only natural that you could only love another human! Lowly hybrids like me aren't even worth the effort, huh! Is that it Sam?" Danny grabbed her wrist, clutching it tightly, and pulling her close to him. "I thought you'd understand, I thought you would be better than all those other filthy humans!"

His voice turned quiet then, and his expression changed from one of anger to sadness, and he looked down. "I thought you'd understand..."

Sam stared at him, taken aback by the sudden shift in his emotions. The comment she had thought he had made when Sam first saw him again drifted back to her head.

_It's not so bad you know, being crazy._

"Danny..." She said quietly, reaching up to touch his head. Danny's head shot up at the touch, his crimson eyes connecting with her violet ones. "Danny, it's not that I don't love you... it's just..."

"Just what?" The sadness Sam had seen quickly vanished, his eyes once again turning cold. Sam's hand dropped back down to her side.

"Just that... I didn't expect... this, any of this. And that kiss..." She found herself once again turning a bright shade of red. "...was so unexpected. I just... don't know what to think, right now..." Sam was relived that her words were coming through the way she wanted to now. "Because... I... I love you too, Danny, I really do... but..."

"But?"

Sam sighed again, looking down at her feet. "You've changed, Danny, in more ways than just becoming a ghost hybrid. I haven't seen you in four years, and so many things have happened to you since then, but you don't seem to want to tell me, you don't seem to want to let me into that part of you." Sam looked back up at Danny, concern in her eyes. "You don't seem to be willing to let _anyone _know what happened to you."

Sam once again moved her arm, taking a gentle hold of one of Danny's hands. "I want you to let me in there Danny. It almost seems like you don't trust me, and I don't think I can be with someone who doesn't trust me. You know I would never, ever, ever, betray you."

Danny yanked his hand away from her, backing up a few steps, his eyes uncertain. "I can't... I can't tell you, Sam... I just can't..."

"Well, why not?"

"Because I can't!" Danny yelled at her, his eyes, which had faded back into azure, quickly shifted into a crimson color again.

"Danny, that's not a reason. Now come on, please?" Sam smiled at him, moving towards him and taking his hand once again.

Danny stared at her, before he tried to yank his hand away from her again. This time, however, Sam held it tightly. Danny pulled again, succeeding to slip away from her this time. Sam looked at his wrist then, her eyes widening a bit. Danny blinked, confused, then looked down at it, realizing that in the tug-of-war with Sam, he had lost his gloves and leather bracelet, exposing the barcode and number on the back of his wrist. Danny quickly clamped his other hand around it, covering the tattoo.

"Danny, what is that?" Sam stared at it, confused. She knew that Danny had four tattoos, he had said so himself, but why would he have a tattoo like this? It seemed to be a lot more like a prisoner number than a tattoo. "Danny?"

Danny took a few more steps backwards then vanished completely from sight, leaving a stunned Sam behind. She stared at the empty space where Danny had been, then looked down at the glove and bracelet in her hands. "What... on earth was that?" She blinked then, remembering what the hunter ghost had said about The Institute. A connection was formed in her mind. "That place... they're responsible. They were the ones who hurt Danny..." She muttered, clutching the two articles of Danny's clothing tightly, her eyes narrowing.

"And they want to use me as bait to bring him back..." Sam frowned angrily. "Well, the next time they send one of their ghostly minions after me... I'm going to be prepared. Whatever they are, whoever they are... They're _not _getting Danny again."

* * *

Danny had fled from the park as quickly as he could, shifting into his ghost mode once invisible. He had gone to the only place he thought to go at the time, right back to his house, and into his room. He was now sitting on his bed, having resumed his human form. He lifted his wrist up in front of his face and started blankly at the tattoo on it.

He honestly had no idea why he was so afraid of telling Sam about those four years. No matter how much he searched his brain for the answer, he just couldn't seem to find one. He sighed, taking off his boots and hat, tossing them to the side. He flopped down on his bed, placing a hand over his face, sinking his world into self-induced darkness.

"What the hell is wrong with me...?" He muttered to himself, quietly. "What am I still doing here? I only came here for Sam, so why haven't I taken her and left already?"

"What the hell is wrong with me...?" He repeated for the second time, as if he hoped asking himself another time would somehow provide him with the answer. The only thing he got was unwanted memories assaulting him, one right after the other.

_You don't deserve to be called human._

_You're a number, not a person. _

_We own you, your body, your soul, and your mind were all bought and paid for. We can do anything we want to you, and we will._

_Monster._

_Freak._

_Abomination._

_Creature._

_You don't deserve the half-life that you have._

_Who could ever possibly love a thing like you?_

_Beast._

Danny quickly pulled himself up from his lying position, covering his face with both of his hands. He blinked, pulling his hands away, feeling that they were somehow wet. He blinked again, running them across his eyes, finding that the water was coming from them. He was crying.

"No! Stop it, _stop!"_ He pushed his hand palms against his eyes, trying to force them back. "Stop that, don't come out! I don't need you, don't need you..." The tears quickly stopped and Danny let out a laugh, the sound of it similar to a violin string snapping. "Hah... I told you I didn't need you... I don't need those stupid human emotions, I don't need any of them! I'm not a human..." He drew his knees up to his chest, locking his arms around them, and placing his head on top of them, staring downwards. He was suffering from an rare moment of weakness, which didn't happen too often lately.

"...I'm not..."

A knock came on Danny's door, and his head snapped up, looking at it. The door was pushed back, and he started at it. His mother entered the room, looking at him.

Maddie had thought she had heard noises coming from her son's room, even though she hadn't seen him come back in. She came upstairs to check it out, and was surprised to find that her son was indeed in his room. She blinked open seeing the state he was in, his white-streaked black hair disheveled, with just a hint of red around his eyes. One of his hands was missing it's glove and bracelet, and he wasn't wearing his shoes or his hat.

"Danny?" Maddie came in, moving towards her son, sitting down on the bed next to him. To her surprise, he made no attempt to drive her away with a glare or a dirty look, but rather just stared at her, his azure eyes blank. "Danny, are you allright? You're not sick, are you?" Maddie reached out a hand, feeling her son's forehead. She frowned deeply, he was cold to the touch. She slid her hand off of his forehead, running it through his hair.

Her hand paused, and she suddenly snatched it back, as if she had found a scorpion in his hair. Danny cocked his head to one side, staring at her blankly, but confused at the same time. His bangs, though already covering half of his face, slid down even further, exposing even more what Maddie had felt.

"Danny... your ears?"


	10. Demigiests

AN: Yay for Chapter Ten! This just keeps on getting way more fun for me to right with every chapter. Dessiree makes her first appearance in the fanfic towards the end of the chapter! Yepp... next chapter's going to be fun, and slightly trippy, told in a series of flashbacks, so be ready for it, my babies! And of course, all of these is leading up to fun stuff like Sam getting kidnapped, The Institute turning people against Danny, and mind control! Now onward, my precious fans! To world conquest!

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman. The word "demigiest" comes from a friend of mine, Morgan, who named my concept. I love you Morgan! You're killer awesome, babe, even though you're a dude! And now, I'm taking my sorry self to bed! Goodnight!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Ten: Demigiests

Maddie Fenton started at her son, her violet eyes wide with shock. She had never seen anything like what she was seeing now, at least not on a human. She had seen pointed ears on occasions before with certain ghosts, however. Maddie blinked then, quickly shaking off that train of thought. Danny wasn't a ghost, the fact that he didn't get sucked into the Fenton Ghost Weasel was proof enough of that.

Danny stared blankly at her, finding himself unable to form any sort of smart remark, denial, or any other words for that matter. He was having trouble thinking at the moment altogether, so he simply stared at her, his azure eyes unblinking.

"Danny? Say something to me Danny. What happened to your ears?"

"Ears..." Danny repeated after her, then blinked, his thinking ability coming back to him in a rush. His eyes darted around the room, and the teenager practically smacked himself as he saw his hat lying on the floor below him. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been! Now his mother had seen something he had been meaning to hide from everyone.

His blank expression changed then, his eyes narrowing. "It's none of your business."

Maddie's own eyes narrowed in response to this. "It _is _my business Danny. I'm you're mother, and I'm in charge of your welfare." Her glaring expression changed then as well, shifting into one more of concern, reaching out with one of her hands and placing it on Danny's. "Danny, if something's happened, you know you can always come to me to talk about it."

Danny yanked his hand away from his mother, glaring at her, unaware that while doing so, his eyes had changed to a crimson color. "Don't touch me!" He snarled out, equally unaware that he was also exposing the tattoo on his wrist.

Maddie's eyes widened and she sucked in her breath, quickly getting up from Danny's bed, staring at him as if he had just grown a third eye. "Your eyes... they just..." Maddie muttered out, her eyes now falling on the tattoo on Danny's wrist. She blinked then. "What's that?"

Danny's eyes widened and he clamped a hand over his wrist, covering the tattoo. _Stupid! Why don't you just go an expose everything to her, huh!_ Danny eyed his mother carefully, forcing his eyes to return to his normal azure color. "It's none of your business, that's what it is."

Maddie's eyes narrowed in annoyance. "You know, I've had it up to hear with this attitude of yours Danny... if you even are! What with the way you're acting, I'm being to have my doubts."

Danny laughed then, a bitter laugh. He pulled himself up from his bed and ran a hand through his hair, smirking at his mother. "Why? Because you think a freak like me couldn't possibly be your son?" Danny leaned in, unnervingly close to his mother. Maddie backed up a bit, her heart skipping several beats at the somewhat dangerous and deranged air that the boy in front of her was now giving off. Danny's smirk only grew.

"So that _is _it then?" Danny pulled back, crossing his arms, and cocking his head to the side in an amused, somewhat superior fashion. "How typical of you humans..."

Maddie's eyes only widened further, her mouth gaping open, trying to form the words. She shut in, taking in a deep breath, calming herself, and once again finding her voice. "What do you mean by that?"

"It meant what I said, _mother._" Danny said the word slowly, venom practically dripping from the word. His eye color once again shifted into crimson, only this time, he made no effort to turn it back to normal. "It's been four years since that accident in the lab, and a lot has happened since then. It woke me up from my naivety, and showed me what fools you humans really are."

Danny's smirk returned, seeing the look of suspicion on his mother's face, her eyes narrowing. "I bet right now you're wondering things like-'Who is this boy? What has he done with my son? _What _is he?'. Am I right?" He took a glimpse at the now-annoyed look on Maddie's face and continued, feeling rather amused.

"Let me answer that as bluntly and as heart-breakingly as possible." Danny held up one of his fingers. "One, I'm your son. Daniel James Fenton, age 18, nicknamed Danny, called that by everyone except for Mr. Lancer, and Dash, who use my last name. Formerly wanted to be an astronaut when growing up, now just doesn't give a flyin flip about anything."

"Two," Danny continued, holding up another finger, it joining the one he previously had up. "I've done nothing with your son, considering the fact that I am your son. Although if you mean to ask me what I've done to myself, I can tell you simply that I am no longer among the sane. I found sanity to be... well, far too boring."

"And three," Danny said, holding up a third finger. "I'm this." With that, Danny let the blue rings of light overtake him, the rings sliding apart across his body, leaving him floating there slightly, in his ghost form.

Maddie's eyes widened and she stumbled back, all of her words, and all of her ability to act stripped away by the sudden transformation of the boy who was, supposedly, her son. She could see that her stunned and speechless reaction amused him, and she sucked it in, standing up straight and staring at the now white-haired and floating teenager in front of her, assessing him. His eyes were crimson, which was common among ghosts. The black claws and the markings along his eyes... those, those weren't. She searched through her mind, looking for something she could classify the ghost in front of her, his expression growing more and more amused by the second. Suddenly, it hit her, like a ton of bricks.

"You're a demigiest!" Demigiests weren't well heard of, even among some of the most senior of ghost hunters. Most of those that did know about them, largely ignored the classification, whether out of fear, or just skepticism. Demigiests were, essentially, ghosts that had lost their minds. But even then, not every insane ghost could be classified as a demigiest. The ghost usually had to be quite powerful in order to become one. Most ghosts, when they lost their mind, also lost their reason de etre, their purpose for existing, and simply faded away. Therefore, it took a substantial amount of power for a ghost to keep it's existence intact. This was one of the reasons why many leading ghost experts denied the existence of demigiests.

And those that believed they existed, avoided possible ones like the plague. Demigiests were the closest thing the Ghost Zone had to offer to poltergeists, a different and far more dangerous breed of the spiritual undead. Some people tried to classify demigiests as vengeful spirits, because they usually started to seek revenge on any supposed cause of their insanity. Unlike vengeful spirits, however, demigiests did not fade away after their vengeance was complete. Rather, they stuck around, continuing to cause chaos in the areas where they resided.

The differences between poltergeists and demigiests weren't as apparent, but they were there. Poltergeists were the darkest of the undead, not a shard of a human mind remaining. Poltergeists also had powers that no other ghosts could tap into, such as entering dreams. Poltergeists lived apart from the ghosts, in their own private realms, which few ever ventured into. Those that did, almost never came back alive.

Demigiests were powerful, and they could do many things a normal ghost couldn't do, but they still lacked the sheer amount of power that poltergeists possessed. They also retained their original ghost powers, such as invisibility and intangibility, while poltergeists mainly lacked these things. Demigiests also maintained some level of subconscious sanity, and it was, in theory, very possible to turn a demigiest back into a normal high-powered ghost if you mended it's mind.

"Ding Ding Ding! It seems we have a winner! Congratulations, your prize is having an abomination for a son. Such a wonderful prize, is it not?" Phantom smirked, his crimson eyes narrowing in amusement. "So do tell me, dear mother... have I broken your heart yet?" Phantom moved closer to the jumpsuit-clad woman, his eyes staring directly into hers.

Maddie's eyes narrowed, the violet orbs turning hard. "You... couldn't be my son." Behind her mask of confidence and certainty, however, Maddie was uncertain. The possibility that the boy in front of her really was her son was not ignored by her, in fact, it almost made sense to her. Danny _had _been inside the portal when it was turned on, something that normally might kill someone. But it was entirely possible, what with the ecto-radiation that quickly followed the electrocution, that it could somehow preserve a person, at least partially, bringing them back from death for the most part.

That didn't explain, however, how her son would have managed to become a demigiest. Of course, it had been four years since they had seen each other last, and things could change in that time. Her mind's eyes flashed back to the barcode tattoo on his wrist, and she began to wonder if he hadn't been captured.

Phantom laughed then, pulling back and away from her. "Oh, couldn't I? But what I see in your eyes says differently, oh sweet mother of mine. So tell me, are you ashamed of me? Hmmm?" Phantom smirked, then shrugged his shoulders. "Oh well, I suppose what you think doesn't really matter, since you'll think all of this is a dream anyways."

"What do you me-nnn..." Maddie felt her eyes slowly close, feeling her body crumpling weakly to the ground. The last thing she saw before she fell into sleep was a brief flash of sadness crossing the crimson eyes of Phantom. Then everything faded to black.

Phantom sighed in annoyance. He had to get his mother to her bed quickly, because he only knew how to put people to sleep for very short periods of time. He hoisted the women onto his back, carefully avoiding scratching her with his claws, and turned intangible, floating through the walls of the house until he came into his parent's room. He pulled the covers off the bed and placed his mother in it, yanking them back over her.

The convenient thing about the sleeping lull was, though it was short-lived, it pretty much glazed over the victim's memory, making everything like it had just been some sort of strange dream. He yawned then, another disadvantage to this power, of course, was that it took a lot of energy. He carefully rubbed the palm of a clawed hand over one of his eyes, and passed back through the wall, heading back into his room. There he resumed his human form, and quickly scooped up his hat, tugging it back over his ears in order to prevent any other future occurrences. He really had to be more careful.

Danny yawned again, stretching now. He looked out the window, noticing that it _was _getting late. If he hoped to get _any _sleep in between his nightmares, he would have to get an early start. He quickly pulled out his sleeping clothes, which consisted of a simple pair of baggy black stretch pants, and changed into them, flopping down onto his bed afterwards. He looked at his bare wrist in irritation, he would have to find a new glove to hide that tattoo sometime tomorrow. He turned over onto his side, closing his eyes and fading slowly off into Dream Land, or, in his case, the Land of Nightmares.

* * *

Samantha Manson, however, was not sleeping. She had stopped by her favorite gothic bookstore on her way home, and had picked up a copy of the largest and most potentially helpful book on ghosts she could find, which was the The Spiritual Encyclopedia. She sighed, flipping through it, careful reading everything she could find there. She wasn't going to play the damsel in distress anymore. The next time a ghost came to kidnap her, she would be the one pounding the answers out of it, since it looked like Danny was never going to tell her himself.

Part of her wanted to respect Danny's privacy, but the other part, the more logical and concerned part knew that whatever Danny was keeping to himself, shouldn't be a secret. She got the feeling that not telling anyone anything, or at least not enough, was what was hurting him the most. And Sam could see it, she could see the pain that he was pushing down, hiding it behind false strength and rage.

The fact that Danny was so angry was what first set off alarms in her head. He was _too _angry. No one could have that much amount of rage in them, not in a pure form. She recalled Jazz once saying something along the lines of how some people tended to turn all their sadness and weakness into anger. And she knew that people who tended to do that, fell apart even faster than people who accepted their pain.

Danny was in pain, in a lot of pain. She knew that in the state he was in right now, he would never admit it either. She got the feeling that Danny was on the verge of breaking apart, and when he did, he would go to a place where she could never reach him again. Sam didn't know what would happen then, what Danny would act like then, but she didn't want to find out.

She sighed, leaning back in her chair, closing her eyes, resting them slightly. The police, much to her surprise, had come by earlier today, asking questions about Danny and Jazz. Sam was shocked to find that Jazz had been kidnapped, although she had a hunch about who might have done it. She knew how Jazz was, and she knew that Jazz wouldn't have been able to keep her nose out of Danny's business. The Institute, whatever that was, must have caught wind of it, and had her kidnapped. Sam, of course, mentioned nothing of this to the police. She knew that doing so would only make things worse for Danny, and that wasn't something she wanted to happen. Besides, they probably wouldn't believe her anyways.

Still, she was a bit surprised that they suspected Danny to be somehow behind Jazz's disappearance. Her parents, of course, thought otherwise, saying they wouldn't put it past him. By now, it was obvious that the police had heard about Danny's little altercation with Dash at school, and that, combined with his delinquent appearance, and his cocky, superior attitude probably made him look very, very guilty in the police's eyes. Sam had no doubt that Danny might have increased the tension around this situation as well, having probably said something stupid when they first met him. Danny seemed to talk without being entirely aware of what exactly he was saying on occasion, especially when something was annoying him.

"Danny..." She muttered to herself, opening her eyes back up, and staring at the ceiling. She let out a long sigh then, pulling herself back to her book, flipping the page. She blinked at the title of the article. "Demigiests... I've never heard of those..." She started to read the article with much interest, blinking in surprise when it was done. It sounded so familiar to her for some reason, and so she read it again, running a finger underneath the lines of text as she read. She frowned after finishing reading it the second time, still not sure why it sounded so familiar. She was sure she had never read this article before...

She blinked then, it slowly dawning on her. It wasn't the article that was familiar, put what was described in it. "...A demigiest... Danny?" She muttered, almost in disbelief. But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. While she wasn't exactly sure still what The Institute was, she got the feeling that it was a place that could break someone. The article described the physical appearance of demigiests of almost always consisting of the following-claws, pointed ears, crimson eyes, and strange markings around the eye area.

She found herself yawning then, her eyes closing themselves. She glanced at the clock, then taking a double take at it. It was now 1:38, she had been up far beyond the time she normal went to sleep. She felt herself yawn again, and closed the book, getting up from her chair. She could study it some more tomorrow, or rather later on in the day, during her free time. Sam flopped down in her bed, just barely having time to pull the covers over herself before she found herself slipping away into deep sleep.

"Danny..." She muttered quietly, "I wish I knew what happened to you..."

She didn't even hear the words that were spoken afterwards, she had fallen fast asleep. But they were spoken none the less, though none were to hear them, a green smoke dancing around Sam's bed.

"So you have wished it... So it shall be."


	11. Shadows from the Past

AN: Yay Chapter Eleven! Definitely the longest chapter, ne? So fun to write! And it's official, May is the most deranged character that I have. But man, do I love writing for this woman. It's fun, for reasons unknown.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but May Clayborne does! The term "Demigiest" was made up by my buddy, Morgan! Spam was invented by aliens! The meaning of life is monkey pie! E does not equal MC squared! I've been watching too much Excel Saga! Let's throw in a few more exclamation points for the hell of it!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Eleven: Shadows from the Past

Sam blinked, looking around in confusion. Everywhere around here was inky blackness, and she couldn't see anything, not even herself. "Where am I?" She heard her voice echo, her eyes searching around again in vain. "How did I get here? The last thing I remember was just falling asleep..." She blinked, looking around in the darkness. "Is this some sort of weird dream?"

"You could say that..." A voice from behind her said. Sam whipped her head around, looking at the source of the voice. The place had begun to lighten now, and to her surprise she saw, of all people, Danny floating there.

"What are you doing in my dream?" Sam pointed at him, stunned.

Danny rolled his eyes and sighed. "I'm not in your dream. Somehow or the other, you're in mine."

Sam stared at him, blinking in confusion. "...You dream about floating around in empty space?"

"If I were only that lucky..." Danny mumbled, looking around the settings. "Shush, it's starting now. The first act."

"Huh?" Sam turned her head, looking the direction Danny was in. The scenery there had changed, into what appeared to be a dark cell. "What is this?"

"You could say it's a flashback..." Danny said, tilting his head to the side a bit.

_"Ugh..." Danny opened his eyes, staring weakly around the room. He sighed, running a hand through his white hair, his green eyes looking dull. They kept him trapped in his ghost form here. The cell was the same as it always was, cold metal walls, cold metal floors, and no light. He tugged on the chains that held his ankles too the floor, but they stayed tightly in place._

_The door to the cell creaked open, and a woman entered. May Clayborne. Twisted and brilliant, to her there was nothing better than making the lives of those she considered beneath her absolutely miserable. Of course, she considered everyone to be beneath her, but she considered sub-humans to be below all other creatures, even animals. At least animals had the decency to not pretend to be human._

_"And how are we today? Still feeling a little drugged up?" She smirked at the boy crouching on the floor, watching in amusement as his body tensed up upon her entrance. Daniel Fenton, or as she had newly christened him 'Patient Number 6821'. To her, he was on the lowest point of the food chain. Neither alive nor dead, he didn't belong anywhere. To be honest, he really pissed her off. May hated things she couldn't classify into a group. "Awwwww, good. It looks like your sense of fear is still intact."_

_"...what do you want with me...?" Danny choked out, his voice cracking as he spoke. He couldn't remember how many times he had asked that._

_May laughed, amused, crossing her arms. "You're still asking me that? Stupid creature." Her arms slid down to her hips, where they stayed. "What do I want with all of the patients here? Hm? Answer me, 6821."_

_"...Information?"_

_May laughed again, shaking her head. "No, that's what my parents and the government want. Try again."_

_"...I don't know."_

_"Of course you don't. You're only fourteen after all." May smiled. "You could say this is how I get my kicks. Watching you pesky subhumans wither in pain... There's nothing better."_

_"You're sick..." Danny spat out, his green eyes flaring to life._

_May simply smiled at him. "I'm well aware of that, dear. Do try and come up with a more original insult sometime." She pulled out a small silver chip from her coat pocket, the sick smile still on her face. _

_"Now, what shall we do with you today? More experiments? Oh! I know!" May smiled, clapping her hands in amusement. "Why don't we have you fight against that pyrotechnic boy." She frowned a bit, thinking. "What was his name again... Nakimori? Ah, regardless." She flipped the chip, catching it in her other hand. She turned to the man in the doorway. "Oi, 6821 will be fighting 3922 today."_

_"Miss Clayborne, the boy is very ill..." The guard muttered out. May laughed, turning around to glare at him._

_"Did I ask you to give me morality? No? Then don't. Get him. If he doesn't want to fight, use the chip. It's more fun that way, when they realized they've killed somebody. Now scat!" The guard went off, and May turned back to her favorite, most hated patient._

_"...don't touch me..." He muttered, trying to sink back against the wall. If it weren't for the damn chains, he could have phased through this place and escaped, but he had no such luck. May smiled laughed, pulling him up by the hair, exposing his neck._

_"Ah, here we go." She grinned, placing the chip against his neck. The chip spiked into his neck, causing Danny's eyes to widen momentarily, before they lowered, turning a very dull, Pupilless green. May reached down then, unlocking the chains around his ankles. "Now come on... You don't want to be late. After all, we have visitors today... High-ups, from the government, you know?"_

The scene ended there and Sam turned, looking at Danny. The boy was staring blankly at the place where the image had been. "Who... was that? _What _was that?"

"May Clayborne. Possibly the most twisted human being alive. With government funding."

Sam blinked for a second, something connecting in her mind. "Wait, Clayborne? That's the last name of the boy my parents... ah, um..."

"I already know that." Danny said, without looking at her. "Matthew Clayborne. I thought it sounded familiar."

"Wait... my parents are trying to hook me up with the relative of that sick lady?" Sam said, stunned. She didn't think her parents were even _that _clueless.

"Apparently."

"...What was that thing she had anyways?"

"Mind control chip."

"...They have those?"

"You'd be surprised." Danny said, turning to look at her. "They used it to keep the patients quiet when they had visitors around."

"...What did they do when they _didn't _have visitors around?" Sam asked, although she honestly didn't want to know.

"For experiments, they kept them off, and simply restrained us. That way May could hear us scream. The louder we screamed, the more exited she would get. Lady could get a bloody orgasm listening to people scream." Danny muttered, his eyes narrowing in remembrance. "When it came to fights, she'd usually only use the chip on one of the patients. It was kill or be killed. She enjoyed it more that way. Especially when the two patients were close. But those were usually observed, and The Institute wanted to make it look like their patients were perfectly obedient, mindless, killers. It's what they wanted... the government."

"Always knew they were corrupt..." Sam muttered to herself, her eyes narrowing. She blinked then, turning to look at Danny. "Wait, then you...?"

"The fact that I'm still half-alive should answer your question." Danny said plainly, eyeing her, then looking away again. "May loved to use the chip on me. May just loved me..." He muttered, in a sarcastic tone, which made Sam think the opposite. "As far as she was concerned, I was the King of all Abominations."

"Danny..." Sam began, but Danny cut her off.

"Scene two is starting. You don't want to miss it, do you?" Danny said, his voice void of any emotion. Sam wrenched her eyes away from him, turning to look at the space in front of her, which was quickly changing into another scene.

_The battle arena. It wasn't cleaned frequently, blood stains of various colors littered the walls. Blue, red, orange, purple, almost all the colors of the rainbow were there, and then some. Tainted blood. Or in some cases, it wasn't even blood at all._

_A scream ricocheted through the walls. The men assembled in the observation box smiled, clapping. They had observed this particular patient many times, and he never had ceased to please them. Patient Number 6821. His fighting was a little rusty, but that was to be expected with a fifteen year old. He showed great promise, more so than any of the others in here. He would make the perfect military weapon, after he developed a bit more._

_Of course, none of them knew about the mind control chip that was implanted on each patient's neck. They all simply assumed that they were all cold-blooded killers, and that was what The Institute wanted them to think. The government may have been the one paying the bills, but The Institute was in control of the game._

_And it was a game, at least to May Clayborne. The one women in The Institute who scared the officials even more than some of the patients. It was the way she looked at you, those plain brown eyes hiding a cunning and ruthlessness that made one's blood run cold. _

_She was standing behind them, arms crossed, leaning casually against the wall, watching the fight, and nonchalantly chewing bubblegum. One could almost see the sheer ecstasy that danced in her eyes. She loved the fighting, she loved the killing, almost as much as she loved the screaming. Almost. To her, there was nothing that could beat a scream of pure terror, except for maybe two, in unison._

_"Most excellent as always, Miss Clayborne. If it's not too bold to say, your work far outshines that of your parents." One the officials said._

_May rolled her eyes, popping the bubble that she had blown. "Of course it is. I'm simply the best there is. Now, you gentlemen may take your leave."_

_The officials by now were used to her attitude, and had learn better than to cross her. Bad things tended to happen when you crossed May Clayborne. They all quickly filled out, one after the other. May smirked, blowing another bubble before she headed down into the arena._

_There he was. The one she despised so much, and the one the military adored. It was almost too perfect, she thought, Won't the poor boy be so stunned to learn that the military wants to make him into a weapon? I wonder if he'll cry. That'd be really nice..._

_May blinked coming around to the half-ghost. He was standing there, staring blankly off into space, waiting for her to order him to do something. The mind control units were a truly wonderful thing, trained to only kick in when her voice was heard. In theory, she could simply order a patient to drop dead, and they'd do it. But now that wasn't any fun, was it?_

_"Well, how about that..." May muttered, crossing her arms. "Crimson." She said, tapping the area above both of 6821's eyes. They had indeed changed color, to that of freshly spilt blood. "It's almost poetic... And yet not. This makes the second change you've gone through." She taped the pointed end on one of his ears, smiling._

_"6821, come with me back to your cell." She turned, starting to walk off. She blinked, then turned around. He was still standing there, staring off into space. "6821! Come!" The ghost hybrid finally took notice of her command, and followed after her. She would have to replace that chip later, May decided, it seemed as if it was malfunctioning._

_They arrived back at the cell, and May re-shackled him, ordering him to be seated. She paused then for a moment, looking at his wall scribblings. May enjoyed watching the decreasing sanity of her patients, so she had a marker kept in each of the cells. Beyond that, the only thing the cells consisted of was the patient and a chamber-pot._

_"Let's see... All the usual ones, and oohh, this one's new! 'If you're reading this May, I hate you.'" She sighed, leaning a cheek against her hand. "Awwwww... It's been a year, but his insults are still terrible. Ah, well." She grinned and leaned down, plucking the chip out from Danny's neck. The life came back to his now-crimson eyes in a rush._

_"Congratulations, dear, you're officially getting freakier. Even I didn't think it was possible!" May smiled charmingly at him. Danny frowned, uncomprehending. May smiled, producing a vanity mirror from her coat pocket, and flipping it open. "Your eyes."_

_Danny stared at his eyes. In addition to the color change, they were silted in the style of a cat's. "W-what...?" Danny muttered out, staring at the mirror. "What did you do to me?"_

_May laughed. "Nothing, dear. You're simply changing into even more of a monster."_

_Danny said nothing, only looking down. May arched an eyebrow, normally this was the part where he protested that he wasn't a monster. It seemed as if he was finally starting to accept what he was. Her suspicions were confirmed when the next, the new message on the wall said 'What Am I?'._

The scene faded there. Sam looked at Danny again, unable to find any words. Fortunately, she didn't have to. A new scene was starting. Sam turned her head away, gazing at the new scene.

_"What the hell is going on?" May yelled, busting through the door to the cell block that contained patients numbers 6800-6831. "I told you not to push the emergency distress button unless it was an emergency! THAT'S WHY IT'S CALLED THE EMERGANCY DISTRESS BUTTON!" She shouted, flinging her arms in the air for emphasis. The two standing guards looked nervously at one another._

_"But it is, Miss Clayborne. 6821 went berserk!"_

_"What?" May stared at him, for once, stunned. Granted, she had observed him becoming steadily more violent over the year, but for him to go berserk? It wasn't something she had considered. _

_May sighed, placing a hand on her forehead. "Give me the damage report."_

_"Two guards are wounded." One of the guards motioned. Lying against the wall were two guards, one of them had a large slash down the right side of his face, and another had a large gash in his left arm. "We haven't been able to sedate him."_

_"Then what about the control device?"_

_The two guards exchanged a look. "It's... not working."_

_May stared at them. "So he's still on the rampage in there, then?" She turned to his cell block. She could clearly hear what sound like growling in there, and claws scratching against metal. Her eyes narrowed._

_"Don't let anyone go in there. I'll be right back." May said, turning on her heels and heading out the doors. She returned a few minutes later, holding a metal neck collar with an attached chain and a steel pipe._

_"Uh... Miss Clayborne... what do you intend to do?" One of the guards asked, staring at her._

_"Isn't it obvious? I'm going to beat his freakin head in, then chain him to the wall." May said, busting the door to his cell open. Her eyes narrowed, as the sixteen-year old turned to stare at her, his red eyes glaring at her. His hair had grown out, adding to the wild and untamed look he currently had. As soon as she entered, he lashed out with newly-formed black claws. May was still out of the way of the berserk hybrid._

_She spun the steel pipe in her hands once, her eyes carefully observing the seemingly erratic claw-strikes. To another person, it might seem like there was no pattern to them, but May had spent her entire life observing (and torturing) various things. She carefully established a pattern and then waited for the perfect moment to strike. She saw it and took it, stepping into his striking range, and swinging a clean shot at his head, just as his claws contacted with her flesh, four deep cuts appearing on her right leg. But her assault had the desired effect, and the hybrid collapsed on the ground._

_May quickly put the neck collar in place, attaching it's chain to the loop in the wall. She pulled back up, frowning, ignoring the pain in her leg._

_"Demigiest."_

The scene came to a close. Sam was now staring at Danny, her violet eyes wide. He wasn't looking at her, his head turned away.

"Danny..."

"You had no idea? Whatever. It's not like I care." Danny said, still not meeting her eyes, his arms crossed. "So I went a little berserk. Whatever, it always happens when a demigiest is born. No big deal."

"Are you crying?" Sam asked, blinking. Danny turned around then, showing that he wasn't crying, his eyes narrowing.

"Cry? Why would I be doing something like that?" Danny glared at Sam, crossing his arms. "Unlike you humans, I don't have any need for such weak emotions."

"Danny..." Sam willed herself over to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. Danny turned rapidly, shrugging it off, glaring at her, his eyes flickering crimson.

"What?"

"You don't have to pretend to be strong." Sam said, looking at him, her violet eyes gentle.

Danny clenched both of his fists, crimson eyes blazing. "Who's pretending!"

"You are."

"What the hell are you talking about? What even makes you think that you can come into _my _dream, and say stupid stuff like that! I'm not weak. I _don't _need your stupid sympathy!"

"Danny..." She blinked, everything around her was starting to get really fuzzy. "What's going...?"

"On?" She blinked, she was now staring at her ceiling. She frowned then, reaching up to her eyes, noticing with a start that she was the one crying. She sat up in her bed, letting the tears slowly flow out, knowing that she was crying for the person who wouldn't let himself cry.

The boy who, even though he had changed, she was still madly in love with.

* * *

Danny's eyes snapped open, and he jolted up from his bed. He clenched his fists in anger, noticing with a rush of pain that they had grown out into claws again. He cursed fiercely, throwing off the covers and heading into the bathroom to trim them down. He hated it, but aspects of his ghost form seemed to enjoy creeping into his human form. He winced as he, in his unfocused anger, accidentally cut too close to his finger, making a shallow cut in his skin.

"Damn... Stupid Danny." He muttered in annoyance. He looked up into the mirror in front of him, gazing at his reflection. His eyes narrowed, and he clenched his fist, now that his claws had been cut down into the shape of normal fingernails, and punched the mirror in front of him, cracking it. The broken shards of glass cut his hand, and red blood flowed from it freely, entwined every now and then by green ectoplasm.

"...stupid..."


	12. The Power of Fear

AN: Yay, Chapter Twelve! Things are really going downhill for Danny now! Wow, this is one of the longest chapters I've ever written. Cool! I hope that's a sign that I'm improving, rather than just as sign that I'm using bigger words that take up more space. I had fun writing this chapter, as always. But man, am I going to have fun with the first half of the next chapter. Demigiest in the police office! Yay! Nothing more fun than that, except for maybe a drunk demigiest in a police office. Come to think of it, can demigiests even get drunk?

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but May Clayborne in all her evil hypocrite-ness does. "Demigiest" is a term coined by my friend Morgan. I have a cramp in my right hand, and it hurts, but I'm stupid so I'm ignoring it. Although this morning it seems to have traveled down to my foot! That's not good, esspecilly since I can't miss anymore school... Banzai!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Twelve: The Power of Fear

"Good Morning."

Jazz snapped awake, looking up at the woman standing in front of her. May was wearing her usual cold smile, although a hint of extra amusement seemed to be in it today. Jazz's eyes narrowed. She had come to the conclusion, over her one and half day stay here, that May Clayborne was absolutely insane. Jazz never hated anyone more than the woman standing in front of her now, and she knew May knew it. Furthermore, she knew May thought it was terribly amusing.

"What do you want?"

"Hm. Seems you have spirit. Exact opposite of your brother when he was first brought here. Always depressed, you know. Although after awhile, he started to get far more violent... Although I'm sure you've heard this before."

"Yes, you told me."

"Hmmm... I suppose I just like hearing myself talk. Ah, well. No big surprise, really. My voice, like every other aspect of me is, simply put, perfection. None other can possibly even hope to compare."

"You need help, you do know that, right?"

"Ah, and your insults are as unoriginal as your brother's as well. I had hoped that someone more intelligent could provide for better come-backs, but I suppose that's just not the case, now is it?" May sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

"As for why I've come to see you, it's simple." May smiled, pulling out a silver chip from her coat pocket, twirling it around between two fingers. "I'm a bit of a gambler, you see. I always make sure to use my hand to it's fullest. And in gambling, like all other things, I far exceed others."

Jazz's eyes narrowed, staring at the chip. "What is that?"

May smiled cruelly and Jazz felt her heart sink as she spoke the next three words. "Mind control chip."

* * *

"Sammie? You up?" Ms. Manson pocked her head in the door, looking at her daughter. She saw to her delight that her daughter was well awake, and was busy pouring over a book. "Oh, you are! How wonderful!" The woman smiled widely, clueless of the fact that her daughter's eyes were still red from crying. "You better get ready, if you hope to meet your fiancee today. It wouldn't do for us to keep him waiting, now would it?"

"I already told you, _mother_, I'm _not _getting married to that guy." Sam said, her voice sounding bitter. "You can't make me, and I don't have to go up on that altar and say 'I do' if I don't want to. And you can tell them that! I have other plans for today."

"Sammie! You know we're only doing what's best for you. You should be happy! Not many girls your age get to have a fiancee!"

"Not many girls my age _want_ a fiancee!" Sam spat out, glaring at her mother. "You're only doing what you guys think is best for me, without even bothering to consider my feelings! Some parents _you _are!"

"But we are considering your feelings Sammie!" Her mother protested, clearly not understanding anything at all. "You're just confused now is all, and you're having a little bit of trouble making good decisions. I mean, you're still hanging out with that _awful _Danny boy, even after he broke that poor kid's arm..."

"Danny's not awful!" Sam protested, getting up from her chair to face her mother. "He's just going through some hard times right now, and he _needs _me!"

Sam's mother rolled her eyes. "That boy has _always _been going through some hard times. I'm telling you Sammie, he's nothing but a dangerous thug. I suppose having such lax parents will do that to a boy. I was honestly hoping that he'd never come back." She sighed. "I suppose things just can't always work out the way you want them too..."

Sam merely rolled her eyes and closed the book she was reading. She moved over to get her combat boots and tugged them on. Her mother blinked, looking confused.

"Sammie, where are you going?"

"To see Danny!" Sam said, storming out of her room, leaving her stunned mother with her mouth agape, staring.

* * *

"_Danny!_" Maddie Fenton said, stunned, staring at the bleeding hand of her son. She had woken up several hours ago, and after the bizarre dream she had, she found she simply couldn't get back to sleep. She had come downstairs, trying to work further on their new invention-The Fenton Ghost Exposer. It was almost done now, there were still just a few adjustments left to make.

She had been startled from her work when she heard the sound of shattering glass coming from the bathroom. She had rushed up the stairs and flung open the door, which she found to be unlocked. Her son stood leaning over the sink, his right hand was cut in multiple places, and the bathroom mirror was cracked into pieces.

"Danny, your hand!" Maddie said, moving over to take it, so she could try and help. Danny quickly moved his hand out of her grasp, as if the woman's touch was poisonous. "Danny... what on earth made you do that! Come on, let me see your hand, we have to get you bandaged up right away!"

Danny simply stared at her for a few seconds, then lifted his hand up in front of his face, staring at it. His azure eyes were disturbingly blank, and he wore no definable expression. His lips eventually curled into a smiled, watching the blood drip from his hand.

"Danny?" Maddie stared at him, struck by a sudden wave of fear, images from her dream coming back to her in a flash. She shook her head and grabbed Danny's hand, blinking the boy out of his trance. "Come on, Danny! We don't want it to get infected."

"I can bandage it myself." Danny said, snatching it make from her. He took one last, long look at his mother before he left the bathroom, taking some gauze wraps from the medical cabinet with him. He went into his room, shoving the door closed behind him.

Maddie stared at him, watching him until his door blocked her vision of him. She let out a long sigh, then turned back to look at the mirror. To her surprise, she noticed that not only was the mirror cracked, but so was a small portion of the wall behind it. Her dream once again came back to haunt her, and she frowned. Now that she thought about it more, that dream _did _seem awfully real...

"No, Maddie, that's crazy! You already saw for yourself that Danny's not a ghost. The Fenton Ghost Weasel proved that..." She frowned, looking back at the broken mirror, her eyes trailing down from it to the blood on the counter and the floor. She blinked in surprise then, seeing something that she didn't entirely expect to see.

"Ectoplasm?" She mumbled, running a hand through the green substance that was mixed in with the red blood. "But how did..." Her eyes narrowed. "It couldn't really be that, could it?" She turned back, facing in the direction of Danny's room, frowning. "There's only one real way to find out..." She said, heading downstairs and picking up the Fenton Ghost Exposer, starting to work on it again.

* * *

Danny sighed, sitting in his room, wrapping the gauze bandages tightly around his hand. "Stupid..." He muttered again to himself. "Why do you do such stupid things?" He rolled his eyes, answering his own question a moment later. "Of course, because you're stupid."

He finished bandaging up his hand and got up off his bed, casting a casual look at the date on the clock. "Saturday..." He mumbled. "That's the day Sam's supposed to met her fiancee."

Danny let out a slight bitter laugh. "A Clayborne, huh? I wonder if the Queen of Bitches had anything to do with that. Considering she knows about Sam, I wouldn't put it past her. This is just the type of thing she'd stoop to... Not to mention Sam's parents are gullable enough to fall for it." Danny smirked, staring amused up at the ceiling. "Anything to keep their precious little daughter out of my hands, huh?"

Danny's smirk grew wider as he pulled himself up off of the bed. "Not that anything they could do can stop me. I'll just have to take Sam to someplace they can't follow me..." Danny grinned to himself as he left his room. "Like Ghost Zone..." He said, looking down in the general direction of the basement.

He headed down the stairs, his wounded hand tucked away in his pocket, and his other trailing down along the railing. He noted his mother on the couch, working away on something. No doubt another ghost invention. Ghosts were the only thing they ever seemed to think about. Whether it was hunting ghosts, doing ghost-based research, or thinking that their children were possessed by a ghost, they're minds never really left the subject. The few times they did, it eventually either worked it's way back to ghosts, or something involving ghosts had come up and distracted them.

Maddie looked up from her invention, staring at her son carefully. She noted that his hand seemed to be bandaged now. "Going somewhere?"

"Yep."

"Where?" She asked, her eyes never leaving him.

"To see Sam, what else?" Danny said, rolling his eyes. "Now, unless you have even more stupid questions to ask, to which I can give even more obvious answers, I'm leaving." With that, Danny headed to the door and pulled it open, blinking in surprise at the person standing in front of it, her hand poised as if she was just about to knock.

"Hey Sam."

"D-danny!" Sam said, sounding surprised. "Wow, I was just going to ask to see you..."

"And I was just going to go see you." Danny said, cooly. "I think we need to have a chat." He walked out of the door, Sam backing up to give him room. Danny closed the door behind him and headed down the stairs, ignoring Sam for now.

Sam paused on the stairs for a moment, wondering whether or not she should go with him. The paranoid part of her said that it might be a bad idea, while the part of her that was madly in love with Danny said that he would never knowingly hurt her. Sam listened to the latter and followed after Danny. Neither of them spoke for awhile, until Sam decided to break the silence.

"Where are we going?"

"Nowhere in particular." Danny said, without looking back. "I figured we'd just walk around, waiting for one of us to start talking about the event last night that caused us to want to see each other this morning."

"Ah.. I see." Sam said. "Well..." She blinked then, noticing Danny's bandaged hand. "What happened to your hand?"

"I cut it."

"How?"

"I punched out the bathroom mirror."

"Why?" Sam asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Because it was there and because I could." Danny said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Didn't that hurt?" Sam winced inwardly. She had gotten cut by glass once before, when one of her picture frames broke. It stung pretty badly.

"Not really. I've felt worse."

"...I'm sorry." Sam mumbled, looking down.

"Why? It's not your fault."

"Because..." Sam sighed, her walk halting. "Maybe if I had noticed something before... You wouldn't have run away. And then none of this would have ever happened to you..."

Danny sighed, pausing in his walk as well. He turned around, looking at Sam. "It's not your fault, okay? It was my stupid decision." Sam still didn't look up, and he sighed again, in annoyance. "The only one at fault here is me."

Sam looked up a bit. "...How... did you become... this way, exactly? I know it probably has something to do with the portal but... Besides that, I don't really know that much."

"I tried to fix the portal for my parents. Of course, I wasn't paying any attention to the fact that the thing was still plugged in when I turned it on from the inside. Got the shock of my life. Not quite sure about how the facts work out about the whole ghost thing, now do I really even care." Danny shrugged. "Woke up seemingly normal, then awhile later I started to notice that I had changed. So I freaked out and ran away."

"So how did they get you? You know... The Institute?" Sam asked, nervously. She really wasn't to keen on bringing up The Institute now that she knew exactly what it was about. She wasn't quite sure how Danny would react. But he seemed to be in a relatively good mood today, probably having let out a lot of his frustration by punching the bathroom mirror.

Danny sighed and turned around, starting to walk again. Sam followed after him, waiting apprehensively for an answer. The silence lasted a few minutes before Danny finally decided to answer.

"I slipped up and was captured by a couple of the government's ghost hunters. Yes, the government has ghost hunters." Danny said, even though he hadn't seen Sam's arched eyebrow. "They managed to find out my secret, then sold me to The Institute for training and experimentation. Seems I was perfect fit for an unstoppable weapon. They just had to do something about that pesky personality of mine, you know?"

"...How many other people were there?"

Danny paused a bit, thinking, trying to recall an approximate number. "There as probably never more than two hundred of us at a time. We never did exactly gather together for any reason, so it's a bit hard to say. Quite a few of the patients never even lasted a month, which is why the numbers got so high. After all, there, it was survival of the fittest. The patients had their own hierarchy."

"...So, um, where were you?" Sam asked, trying for now to avoid more serious questions.

Danny paused for a second, turning back to Sam and grinning at her, but in a somewhat sad manner. Sam paused, wanting to reach out to Danny but the boy quickly turned around and started walking again. Sam hurried to catch up with him.

"I was... nowhere on it. I was kept in isolation most of the time." Danny shrugged. "There were a few, in the beginning who could tolerate me. Those quickly vanished when May first started using me in the fights. You see, when someone never loses, they start to forget that the said person is under mind control and they start to think that said person really is a cold, ruthless killer."

"...how many?" Sam whispered quietly, almost barely audible. She didn't really want to hear the answer to this, but she knew it was a question that she had to ask at some point. There was no way around it.

Danny sighed. "I lost count after thirty-two. Probably about seventy-ish, in all, considering that I was in there for three years."

Sam sucked in her breath, finding that for a second, her feet could no longer move. She was rooted to the ground. She knew that Danny would have probably... killed a few of the other 'patients', but she didn't expect that many of them. She wanted to say something but she found that she couldn't think of anything to say, her mind was a total blank. She realized, to her horror, that she was afraid. She was _afraid _of Danny.

Danny, who was a bit ahead of her in this point, finally stopped walking and turned around, looking at her. Sam made a feeble attempt to try and hide the fear that she knew was in her eyes, but it was to no avail. Danny started at her blankly, his azure eyes betraying no emotion.

"You're scared, aren't you?" Danny asked, crossing his arms in front of him.

Sam bit her lip, but found that she was nodding.

"I'd expect you to be. Now you know why I didn't want to tell you anything." Danny said, uncrossing his arms, and looking down at his hands. "These hands have had their fair share of blood on them... and they're not quite ready to be wiped clean. I still have a few lose ends at The Institute to take care off." Danny smirked, his eyes flashing crimson. "Like May... I think I'll enjoy seeing how loud she screams as she dies..."

Sam's eyes widened, her mind drifting back to the passage in her book about Demigiests. She knew that Danny wasn't the most mentally stable of people, he had even admitted it himself, after all, but the fact that he was actually insane hadn't quite hit home until now. She was afraid, and she couldn't help it. She didn't want to be, but she was. She _wanted _to be totally supportive of Danny, she _wanted _to be by his side no matter what, but she simply couldn't shake the feeling of overwhelming fear that was currently consuming her.

"Sam..." Danny looked at her, a brief look of pain flashing through his eyes. "You know I'd never hurt anyone who didn't deserve it. And I would never hurt you..." Danny reached out, trying to place a hand on her shoulder. He paused then, noticing how she tensed up as it moved in. He sighed and pulled it back, tucking it into his pocket. He could see the conflict in her eyes and frowned deeply.

"So that's how it is, then? I guess it's to be expected..." Danny turned around, his feet starting to move again. "...Think for awhile Sam. I'll see you later."

Sam simply watched him go. When he was out of sight, she let out the breath that she didn't realize she had been holding and collapsed on her knees, staring blankly down the sidewalk. Her voice finally returned to her. "...Danny... I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..."

* * *

"Mom!"

Maddie Fenton looked up quickly. Standing in front of the door, looking like a nervous wreak was her daughter. Her eyes widened as she noticed what appeared to be claw marks on her left arm and she quickly put down the Ghost Exposer, rushing over to her daughter. Jazz collapsed into her arms, looking exhausted.

"Jazz, honey! Are you allright? What happened?" Maddie said, holding her daughter tightly. "Jack! Jack, come quickly! Jazz is home!" As soon as the word Jazz left her lips, Maddie's husband was by her side.

"Jazz! I was so scared for you! Who took you? Who hurt you? Who do we need to make pay?"

Jazz trembled, clinging tightly to her mothers arms, tears pouring out of her eyes. "I... I didn't ... want it to... to come to this..." Jazz said quietly, her voice trembling. "B-but... it-it was..."

"Was who?" Jack and Maddie both asked at the same time.

"...Danny..."

Neither of her parents noticed the strange silver chip latched onto the back of Jazz's neck, well hidden by her mass of orange hair.

* * *

Danny sighed. After leaving Sam, he had headed off, with no particular destination in mind. He paused for a second, leaning against a bench in one of the shopping areas. From here he could see the town's clock tower. "11:35..." He laughed a bit, amused that he had been walking around in a thoughtless daze for about three hours. It wasn't too surprising though, considering he didn't have much of a mind to begin with, and therefore could go longer without thinking about anything than a normal person.

He was hurt by Sam's fear of him, but at the same time it barely registered with him. He was still madly in love with her, practically to the point of having a dangerous obsession with the gothic girl. Nothing in the world could change that. Sam could murder him and he'd still be in love with her.

Her fear would have bothered him more, if he hadn't expected it. But she was only human after all, and all humans feared what they didn't, and couldn't understand. The two of them lived practically in separate worlds, Sam in the safe and relatively simple world of reality and sanity, and Danny living in a dark and twisted illusion inside of his mind. They were so close and yet so terribly far away at the same time.

Danny wanted her and he knew he might never have her. She was a human and he was anything but. May was right, he could never blend in with humans. It would never work and he was an idiot for thinking he could, even if it was only just for a short while.

Danny still wanted Sam, more than ever now. Everything else, all of his other problems paled in the face of that. He wanted her to be his, like he had always thought of her as being. Sam belonged to him, she was prized treasure. Danny had been trapped as a ghost for so long that at times, he started to think more like a ghost than a human. He barely even registered now the huge difference between how his mind worked before The Institute and how it worked after The Institute. He simply couldn't remember what thinking like a whole human felt like.

The skeptics were right. It was impossible for a ghost to become a demigiest. A lot of ghosts had already lost their minds when they died, but it did nothing to them. Half-ghosts, however, were another story. Because they had never died, they couldn't just simply fade from existence nor could they ever get rid of their powers. The result of doing so was most likely fatal, May had said so. And the women never lied when the truth suited her just as well.

They had to live life, trying to pretend to be normal. But it was impossible, because no matter how much they pretended, no matter how much they wanted to be, they simply _couldn't. _They were detached from humanity in a way that wasn't easy to explain.

Danny sighed, leaning back against the bench. "Whoever said being insane was easy was feeding someone a load of bull." Danny muttered, staring up at the perfectly blue sky. "Hnn... how ironic."

"Daniel Fenton?"

Danny's eye twitched and he pulled himself up from his relaxed position, looking in annoyance at the two cops who were standing in front of him.

"What? Is there a law against sitting on park benches now?"

The two officers exchanged a look, then turned back to Danny. "Your under arrest for arranging the kidnapping of your older sister, one Jasmine Fenton." The male officer said, pulling out a pair of hand-cuffs. "You have the right to remain silent, anything you say, can and will be used against you in a court of law."

"Hell. I probably should have seen this coming." Danny muttered, letting the officer cuff him. He could easily escape, granted, but he didn't feel like it. Besides, somebody had to prove he was innocent, and he knew damn well that nobody else would. _And so, the demigiest goes to jail. Fun for the whole freakin family._


	13. The Accused and The Kidnapped

AN: Yay for Chapter Thirteen! I am so happeh! Let's all dance, ne? (insert much dancing here) Anyways, today I have more pictures to treat you with. Yay, hooray! Hahha, sorry about not updating anything on Thursday, but I got my dumb butt grounded. You know, for not doing my big Latin Mid-Term project. Did it the night before last though, so I'm not gonna fail! Yay for not failing!

Pictures! Remember to take out the spaces, dear members of the masses!

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 30483254/ (Phantom and Sam, who's dressed in an awesome-ish dress. Colored version of a previously posted sketch)

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 30482830/ (Chibi Danny, with a few of his demigiest features)

www. deviantart. com/ view/ 30483057/ (And once again, we have Danny flipping us off. But this time he's randomly wearing googles, and it's more accurate than the last. I remembered his white streak, yay!)

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me! Demigiest is a termed coined by my friend Morgan! May and Matthew Clayborne belong to me, as well as the Fenton Ghost Exposer and both of Danny's outfits! One time my friend got high, and the next thing she knew she was on a roof, missing a shoe! Shout! Shout! Shouuuuttt!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Thirteen: The Accused and the Kidnapped

"Daniel Fenton..." The cop began, looking at the teenager in front of him. The punkish looking teen had been accused of kidnapping his older sister, as well as assaulting her. And to be honest, Danny certainly did look like the type to do something like that. Cases like these weren't usually the types of crimes that the police had to deal with around Amity Park. It was fairly peaceful, as far as crimes went.

"Danny." Danny interjected, staring cooly at him. His feet were propped up against the table, and he was leaning back in his chair, his head leaning against the back of his arms. He was still hand-cuffed, but it wasn't like it really mattered to him. He could leave the jail anytime he wanted to.

"Right..." The cop mummered, making a mental note of it. "Would you please kindly take your feet off the table then, Danny?"

"Nope." Danny grinned at the cop, seemingly amused.

"Do you even realize the gravity of the situation you're in, young man?" The cop said, sighing in annoyance. So much for having a slow day. "Kidnapping isn't a casual charge. And with that attitude of yours, I'm beginning to doubt that they'll put you on trail for this as a minor. So unless you want to be locked up in prison for a long time, I suggest you cooperate."

Danny arched an eyebrow. "But I am cooperating. The fact that I have my feet on the table doesn't prevent me from answering the questions as far as your measly little human mind can understand my answers." Danny said, his amused eyes never leaving the cop. "And anyways, even if I did go to prison, it's not like it could actually hold me. I could leave right now if I wanted too, but I find answering stupid questions rather amusing."

The cop sighed deeply once again, rubbing his forehead. He had met a lot of annoying teenagers in his days as a police officer, but none that were as annoying as Danny Fenton. He had only been in the room with him for fourteen minutes and he could already tell that Danny was a cocky, and possibly mental unstable teenager, who had absolutely no respect for authority, or even the human race as a whole. The way Danny sat reminded him almost of some sort of dangerous animal, laid-back for the moment, but ready and able to strike at any moment, without warning. It was a little unnerving.

"Allright then, care to tell me why you wanted to have your sister kidnapped?"

"I already told you, I didn't do it." Danny said, rolling his eyes. "Why would I kidnap my sister anyways? Sure, she's an annoying know-it-all, but that's just not my style, you know?" _The only girl I'd ever kidnap is Sam, dammnit. And that's just because she belongs to me anyways, so it wouldn't even really be a kidnapping, now would it?_

"Oh? She claims otherwise."

"Oh does she now?" Danny said, raising an eyebrow. "And speaking of sister dearest, can I see her? I'd like to ask what the hell she's thinking, or not thinking, to her face."

"Well normally, you'd have that right, but due to the condition your sister is currently in, I'd have to say no. The poor girl is absolutely terrified of you." The cop said, staring carefully at Danny's reaction.

Danny simply smirked, amused. "I'd imagine she would be. After all, May's not that stupid."

"May? I thought your sister's name was Jasmine." The cop said, blinking in confusion. He checked the papers in his hands, reconfirming the fact that Danny's sister was indeed, named Jasmine.

"Yeah, she is. But she wasn't who I was talking about." Danny said, shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Then who were you talking about?"

"May Clayborne. The twenty-seven year old head of research at the governmental facility called The Institute. Top secret stuff, you know. Someone as low down on the chain of command as a mere cop wouldn't know a thing about it." Danny shrugged.

"She's probably using a mind control chip on Jazz, since after all, she was the one who originally kidnapped Jazz on account of the fact that she just knew too much. Jazz is kind of nosy that way. You know how those people are, right?" Danny asked. The only reason he was answering truthfully was because he knew the cop would either think he was lying, or that he was insane. Well, the cop would be right on the latter, though probably not in the way he thought he was.

Sure enough, the cop just stared at him blankly for awhile. He got the feeling that he was going to get nowhere with this one. "Allright then... Moving on." The cop cleared his throat, looking down at the papers in his hands. "Where were you when you're sister was kidnapped then?"

"Sitting on my bed, angsting. Isn't it obvious?"

"... Right." The cop couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy. The longer he spent with this boy, the more intense the sense of danger around him got. It was enough to make even a veteran cop have trouble controlling their bladder. The fact that the expression Danny wore reminded him of a dangerous predator certainly didn't help matters, either.

"Got anymore stupid questions, or can I just go spend time in my nice jail cell now? It would be much nicer than the one I used to be tucked away in..." Danny mumbled.

_Is this kid crazy? He really doesn't seem to know what kind of hole he's digging for himself here. And what is up with all of these weird things he keeps on saying? He's been in a cell before? The Institute?Man... teenagers these days are enough to make one want to beat their heads against the wall repeatedly..._

The cop sighed, rubbing his head again. "Yes, you can go."

"Wonderful." Danny grinned, leaving the room. Two officers stood by the door, waiting to escort the accused kidnapper to his temporary cell. They unlocked his hand-cuffs once they thought he was safely inside, and locked the cell door behind him.

Danny yawned, casting a casual eye around the cell. "Oh yeah, this is definitely better than the last one. And look, this one even has indoor plumbing! What a luxury. I can't even begin to tell you how degrading having to use a chamber pot is. How _did _those medieval people stand it?" Danny mumbled to himself, leaning down on the cell's bed, and staring at the cold stone ceiling.

"Huh... you know, I wonder if they can use what someone says when they talk to themselves against them in a court of law?" Danny scratched his head. "More importantly, why am I wondering about something as random as that? Ah, well. That's how the minds of the mad work, I guess. We just think about random shit in times when other people would be panicking. Which is why the insane shall one day rule the world... or something like that anyways."

By now, the guard seated outside of Danny's cell was staring at him, wide-eyed. Danny pulled himself up from his lying position and looked at the guard, an amused grin on his face. "What? Never seen someone talk to themselves before? You better get used to it, because I do it a lot. Only good conversation I can get around these parts."

The door to the cell block opened and an officer stepped in. Following behind him were his parents, both of them looking like they had their hearts ripped out and then run over by a pack of wild horses.

"Daniel Fenton, your parents are here to see you."

Danny twitched at the use of his real name. _Why can't anyone get the fact that I hate that name? Gah, humans are all the same. Stupid, stupid, and more stupid._

"Oh joy." Danny muttered, getting up off the bed and walking over to the cell bars. He stood there, staring at his parents, his hands tucked into his pockets. "So, come to yell at me for something I didn't do? Or maybe take me away and stick me in the Fenton Stockades, never to be released?"

His parent's eyes narrowed at this. Danny knew by now his mother was starting to realize that the dreams she had last night most likely wasn't a dream at all, but reality. She had probably told her husband about it by now as well, and they were probably both equally suspicious, if the new piece of ghost hunting equipment dangling from Maddie's belt was any indication.

Maddie turned to the guards. "I'm sorry, but could you leave us alone?" The two guards exchanged a look, and Maddie sighed, annoyed. "Please?" The guards nodded and left the room. Maddie then turned back to Danny, her eyes narrowing further.

"Who are you?" She asked, suspicion apparent in her voice.

"We've already gone over this, remember? I'm your son, whether you like it or not." Danny said, returning her suspicious stare with a somewhat uncaring stare of his own.

"I don't know if I can believe that anymore." Maddie said lowly. "You kidnapped my daughter, and furthermore, you _hurt _her. I can't forgive you for that, no matter what or who you are."

Danny sighed, rolling his eyes. "Have you checked the back of her neck?"

"The back of her neck?" Maddie said, confused.

Danny sighed in annoyance and tapped the back of his own neck. "The back of her neck. This part of her body, right here. You should check it sometime and look on in fascination at the _mind control device _embedded in it."

"And why should we believe you, demigiest?" Jack said, glaring at him, fury in his eyes. Danny had almost forgotten how he got when someone hurt one of his family members. It was one of the few times when his father could do anything right.

"Eh, I dunno, maybe because I'm telling the truth?" Danny said, casually shrugging his shoulders.

Maddie reached to her belt and unlatched the device hooked onto it. It was a fairly simple looking thing, it almost looked like a thin silver pin, with a small silver button in the middle. Danny raised an eyebrow at it.

"And what's that?"

"It's our new invention. The Fenton Ghost Exposer." Maddie said, staring at him.

"Oh joy, once again. Your faith in me is just _so _overwhelming." Danny rolled his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "You know what? Why don't I just save you idiots the trouble? Here, take a look at what your only son has become." Danny smirked, closing his eyes, feeling the rings of blue light appear at his waist, and travel down his body, transforming him into his ghost form. He could hear two shocked gasps, one sounding more shocked than the other. Phantom's crimson eyes flickered open.

"And here you have it. The world's only halfa. Half-ghost, half-human, and the biggest insult to nature you'll ever find. So, how do you like it?"

"So it wasn't a dream..." Maddie said, staring at the boy who just moments ago was her human son in horror. Maddie's look was mirrored on her husband's face, but his was quickly replaced by one of rage.

"What did you do to our son?" Jack shouted.

Phantom sighed, rolling his eyes. "For the third time, I _am _your son. Do a blood test. Once you finish filtering out all the ectoplasm in it, you'll find that it's true." Phantom grinned at them, his crimson eyes flashing in amusement.

"A demigiest..." Maddie stuttered out once again, in disbelief. "You couldn't be... you just couldn't be!"

Phantom sighed in annoyance once more, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms. "Didn't we already go over this one too? Why's it so damned hard for you two to believe that I'm your son? Is it because I'm part-ghost? Is it because I've changed since the last time you two saw me?" Phantom cocked his head to the side. "This is exactly why I didn't want to come back and see you two. I only went back to your house because Sam asked me to. People like you would never understand."

"Shut up! There's no way you can be our son!" Jack shouted. "Danny isn't like you!"

"Give him back to us! Give him back!" Maddie shouted, in both anger and sadness. From her pouch she pulled out a small ghost pistol and aimed it at Phantom. Phantom merely let out a bitter laugh, and grinned in a pitifully amused fashion, running a clawed hand through his snow white bangs.

"Is that what you really think? Or perhaps good old mind-controlled Jazz filed you in on some erroneous details, hm?" Phantom asked. Maddie and Jack simply glared at him, their eyes burning in fury. Phantom frowned. "Whatever. There's no point in being here anymore." Phantom turned intangible, phasing through the back wall of the jail cell. "I probably won't ever see the two of you around again."

Phantom flew quickly away from the jail cell, heading to Sam's house. He had made up his mind now. He wasn't going to try and live life pretending that he was just like every other pitiful human. He wasn't going to be running from May for the rest of his half-life either. It was still early, and Phantom knew that Sam's fiancee, the relative of May, probably wouldn't be arriving for at least two more hours.

He had decided he was going to slip into Sam's house and take her, fleeing with her to the one place no one could find him-not May, and not his parents. The Ghost Zone. Sure, he knew his parents had the Specter Speeder, but Phantom had spent his last year away from Amity Park, and his only year of freedom in the Ghost Zone. He knew it much better than either of them did, and he knew that May didn't know anything about either. Or at least, he hoped she didn't.

He phased through the wall into Sam's room. He paused then, finding that Sam was indeed in her room. Her eyes were red, and it appeared as if she had been crying. Phantom blinked, frowning. He floated down to the bed, landing gently on it. Sam looked surprised at first, when she saw the mysterious imprint of feet in her bed, but let out as sigh as Phantom turned visible again.

"Danny... I..."

"Don't say anything Sam. We're leaving." Phantom said, looking around the room, making sure that no one else was there. Sam blinked at him, uncomprehending.

"What do you mean, we're leaving?"

"I'm taking you away."

"What?"

Phantom sighed in frustration, his eye twitching. "In the more human of terms, I'm kidnapping you."

Sam stared at him, blankly. "That's a joke, right, Danny?"

"No." Phantom said cooly, an amused smile appearing on his face.

"Danny, what are saying? You can't kidnap me. Why would you even do something like that to begin with?" Sam said, a bead of cold sweat trickling down her face. Danny was scaring her...

"Because I've finally come to realize that this world has no place for freakish abominations such as myself. And there's no way in hell that I'm going to leave my property behind to get married off to the relative of the lady who's life partner is Pain."

"Excuse me, Danny? I thought you just called me your property?" Sam said, her violet eyes narrowing.

"I did. And you are." Phantom said, not understanding why she was getting so upset. It just seemed like an obvious fact to him. She was the woman he loved, so of course she belonged to him.

"I'm nobody's property, Danny." Sam said cooly. Phantom could see her muscles tense up, almost like she was getting ready to try and run.

Phantom frowned, his eyes narrowing in confusion. "Of course you are. I love you so you belong to me and nobody else. I thought you said you loved me back? Don't you feel the same way about me?"

Sam stared at him, stunned. _What... what the heck is he thinking? He sees me as his property? That's almost like something... well, something a ghost would think._ It finally dawned on her, the shocking realization hitting her like a freight train. _Danny... must be thinking more like a ghost than a human. Well, that explains a few things..._

"Come on Sam, let's go before someone comes up here." Phantom said, grabbing one of her arms. He felt Sam's body tense up, and he got the feeling that somewhere in her subconscious, she was still terribly afraid of him. His crimson eyes narrowed, he didn't like this one bit.

"D-danny, stop it!" Sam said, trying to pull free. But it wasn't any use, Phantom was stronger than her. Sam's struggling only caused Phantom to grow angrier, her fear and struggle to get away from him coming across in his mind as hatred and rejection.

"So that's it then? Is this where your love for me stops, Sam?" Phantom asked, his hand gripping her tighter. Sam's eyes widened and she yelped loudly in pain as she felt his claws pierce through her skin slightly.

"Sammie?" A voice from downstairs was heard and two sets of footsteps came running up the stairs. The door was quickly pushed open, and Sam's parents stood there, surprised at the scene. "Who... Get away from her, you freak!" Sam's mother yelled, fear apparent in her voice.

Phantom's eyes narrowed and he gritted his teeth. "Damn..." He quickly turned to Sam, his eyes flashing crimson. He would have to put her to sleep for now, if he wanted to get her to come away with him. Sam's eyes widened, just before her limp body slumped down into his waiting arms. Phantom turned, taking a last glaring look at Sam's parents before he launched himself off her bed, turning intangible and phasing through the wall. He could hear their shocked gasps as he left, flying quickly back to Fenton Works, and phasing into the basement of his house.

The Ghost Portal was on and open at the moment and Phantom slipped quietly into it, the love of his life still clutched tightly in his arms.


	14. The Lady Pulling the Strings

AN: Chapter Fourteen! Time to take a break from Danny and Sam and focus on the woman we all hate with the passion of ten thousand burning suns, May! And, after mentioning him several times, Matthew Clayborne makes his appearance! Well, sorta anyways. And Paulina learns that crossing May is not a good idea. Just in case you're wondering, yes, after the May Saga, there's going to be a sequel, involving the government. I'm still working away at that plot, as well as another story that's about the next generation of DP characters. Fun for the whole deranged family! And man, are they some deranged families. If anyone wants to hear about it, just mention it, and I'll tell you about it. I'm debating making the villain either Phariah Dark, or Dan Phantom, and I'm strongly leaning towards Phariah Dark.

Anyways, Danny Phantom isn't mine! May and Matthew Clayborne are though, steal them and I will gut your eyes out with a giant plastic spork, which I keep in my closet. Demigiest is a term coined by my friend Morgan! Excel, Hyatt, and Ilpalazzo are all named for hotels! Yeah, where the heck did that come from, huh?

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Fourteen: The Lady Pulling the Strings

"So you failed?"

May Clayborne wasn't the type of woman who tolerated failure or incompetency. It was one of the reasons she had been able to work her way to a top position of The Institute's chain of command by the time she was seventeen. She was a cold and cunning cut-throat, and she let no one get in the way of her goals, regardless of who they were. She ruled by fear, plain and simple. People who failed her had no place in her organization. She made sure they were all executed. Because once you got into The Institute, you could never leave. It was the one part of the contract that she had left off the paper they signed.

She was standing in front of a small cage, specially made to prevent ghosts from escaping. Sitting in it was the pitiful creature called Skulker, who was supposedly the Ghost Zone's greatest hunter. She had fished him out of the Ghost Zone after his failure to kidnap Samantha Manson and bring back her lovely little pet.

Nobody had been more pissed when Patient 6821, Daniel Fenton, had escaped. The demigiest had managed to gain a new power, which allowed him to put people to sleep. He vanished from his cell. May had every last guard on duty that day shot in the head by her other favorite pet. Her younger brother.

Matthew Clayborne was the only son of the Clayborne family, and therefore he would have normally inherited The Institute. Such was the tradition that had been going on for centuries. The government might have thought it started The Institute, but the Clayborne family had been doing this job for as long as anyone could remember. Granted, the majority of the family was nowhere near as cruel as May was. She took the Clayborne family's research to a new level.

Her younger brother wasn't interested in the family's research though. The boy's point of obsessions was weapons. He had quite the impressive collection, ranging from simple handguns, to grenades, to shoulder rocket launcher, to bastard swords. Probably the only weapon he didn't have in his collection was a nuclear missile.

May was the black sheep. Her parents hated her and she could tell even Matthew was uneasy around her. She was a sadist from the very beginning. The more advanced her fetish for seeing other people in pain got, the more her family distanced itself from her. At the age of thirteen, her parents finally had enough of her and ordered their subordinates to send her away. They had drugged the girl, and secretly transported her away into Canada, where they dumped her in the most uninhabited place they could find.

That was that, or so the family thought. Now they could concentrate more on their research, not having to worry about their twisted daughter.

But they quickly came to discover that nobody crossed May Clayborne, and lived to tell the tale. Four years later, their now seventeen-year old daughter found her way back to the facility, holding a grudge the size of the state of Texas. Mr. and Mrs. Clayborne, as well as the board of directors and all the staff on duty that day vanished from the face of the Earth.

In addition to her sadistic tendances, there were other things about May that separated her from the human race. These differences, however, made her feel superior to the puny and pathetic humans around her. In May's own eyes, she was closer to being a god than a human. She had merely let the guards drug her, because she knew that in the place she currently was, she couldn't become strong enough to get what she wanted.

May was a psychic. More specifically, she was telepathic and telekinetic. She was smarter than normal humans as well. Her ability to read minds, as well as her intelligence, led May to believe that humans were a truly foolish race, and that, furthermore, they needed someone in charge who could show them the error of their ways. Yes, May was one of those people who truly wanted world conquest.

As for those she deemed sub-human, they were even worse than humans. Pitiful, sorry creatures, the whole lot of them. And she enjoyed torturing them more than normal humans. They're reactions were just so much more varied.

But back to the story. Because of her unique talents, May was able to skillfully destroy The Institute, without ever getting a drop of blood on her hands. It was a simple commands she sent through the minds of the massacre victims-'Kill'. And they did, with utmost efficiency.

May spared her brother, not because of any attachment, but because he was an excellent marksman, perfect for an executioner. Matthew was the first person May ever tested her mind control chip on, and offspring of her psychic powers and her intelligence. It was an enormous success, and she re-produced them for all of The Institute's patients. She re-employed people to fill the spots of the staff she had killed because, since everyone else was dead, May was now in control of The Institute.

When the government came a-knocking, looking for answers, May pinned the death on another psychic patient. Even the other psychics were below her, although they were certainly higher up than the other sub-humans. The government quickly took care of the patient, via a firing squad. Good old-school style execution, and May's favorite. She loved the tension in the air.

"I... he was stronger than I thought he would be!" Skulker squeaked out. He couldn't help but be afraid, even though he was comfortable in the knowledge that May couldn't do anything to harm him, since he was, after all, already dead.

"Hnnn..." May frowned, and picked up a silver handgun from the table. She showed it to Skulker. "Do you know what this is?"

"...a gun?" Skulker asked, confused, not sure where she was going with this.

"Aye, but it's not just any gun love." May said, grinning, rubbing the gun lovingly. "You see this little baby is a ghost's worst nightmare. Why you ask? Because it channels my psychic energy into a highly destructive force. And we all know one of the few things that can take out a ghost is psychic energy." May grinned, seeing the fear spread across the ghost's face.

"Please give me another chance! I won't fail again!" Skulker pleaded with her. Suddenly, his usual set-up was completely reversed. He was the prey and she was the hunter.

"One failure is enough." May said, unlatching the safety and pointing it at the small ghost. Skulker let out a yelp as May pulled the trigger. From the gun shot a lavender wave of energy, not only hitting Skulker, but the cage and the entire wall behind it as well. As the dust cleared, May frowned, looking at the gun.

"Hmmm... Seems it's a bit more destructive than it was supposed to be." She smiled then, happily. "Perfect."

May's cell phone rang then, and she blinked. "Hm?" She took it out of her pocket, flipping it open. "Talk."

"Miss Clayborne?"

"Oh, it's you, Jasmine. What do you have to report?"

"He fled from my parents, and apparently, he's taken Samantha away. I'm not sure where though."

"Damn. I knew I shouldn't have relied on such incompetent underlings. Sit tight, Jasmine. Big Sister May's comin to town." May flipped her cell phone closed and walked out of the room, after grabbing a holster for her new toy.

"If you want something done... you just gotta do it yourself." May said, cracking her neck. "Danny Fenton... Patient 6821, it's time I brought you back home." She smirked, recalling the time when Danny had first been brought to her.

* * *

_"A ghost hybrid, huh?" May asked, looking down at the contract paper in front of her. She twirled a pen idly in her hands, looking up at the two ghost hunters sitting in front of her. They both nodded at her, and May frowned. "Ten million dollars? That's a pretty steep price."_

_One of the ghost hunters coughed. "You do understand that we've been forced to give up this anomaly against our will. The government direly wants him as a weapon."_

_May arched an eyebrow, crossing one leg over another. She caught one of the ghost hunters, the younger one, leering at her finely shaped legs. Her eyes narrowed at him, and he quickly looked away. May made a mental note to have the man get run over by a herd of bulls later. She turned back to the matter at hand. "And why, my good man, does the government want a ghost hybrid weapon to begin with?"_

_"Genocide. We can't disclose anything more than that." The older one looked at her, suspiciously. May flashed him the most charming smile she could._

_"Ah, well that's the government's business now and not mine. That will be fine for now." May said, signing the purchase contract. "There. The ten million dollars will be wired to your account later." With that, she got up from her chair, the two ghost hunters following her. "So, show the creature to me."_

_The two nodded and called for their catch to be brought in. A third ghost hunter, probably an apprentice, came in, holding the unconscious boy. He was held in glowing green chains. May frowned. The boy had obviously seen better days. He was very skinny, his clothing was all torn, and his hair was disheveled. He had wounds on him, obviously from his brief combat with the ghost hunters._

_"Looks just like a normal kid." May remarked, casting a suspicious glance at the ghost hunters._

_"That's his human form." One explained, and May accepted it. If they were trying to play here, she would have known by now. It wasn't the first time the government tried to sneak in spies..._

_"Hnnn..." May said, a cruel grin forming. "I think I'm going to enjoy this one."_

_

* * *

_

"Amity Park. Lovely, isn't it Matthew?" May asked, looking at her younger brother, who was standing next to her. They had just arrived in Amity Park, via mind-controlled limo driver. Sure, May could have taken her own limo, but usually after she had someone drive her somewhere, she'd have them drive off a cliff. No sense in wasting her own car.

Matthew nodded, his eyes blank. There was a strong resemblance between him and his older sister. Matthew had shortly cropped brown hair and dark brown eyes. He wore a black trenchcoat, a black fishnet shirt and baggy black deep-pocketed cargo pants, complete with spike-heeled black combat boots. May knew he had several firearms tucked away, hidden in his coat and in his pockets.

"Come on, we don't want to be late for our little expose." May said, moving on ahead. Matthew followed behind her. May, of course, had changed her clothing in order to blend in better. A white lab coat would stand out. She currently wore a sleeveless white turtleneck and a pale blue mini-skirt, her outfit finished off by a pair of white sandals with pale blue straps. She looked more like a teenager than a twenty-seven year old woman.

"Eeek!"

May sighed, turning around. Just as she expected, her brother had run right into someone... and then walked over her. The Latino girl pulled herself up off the ground, glaring indignantly at the two.

"Watch where you're going!"

"Why don't you?" May said cooly, staring at her. She got nothing but a shallow, empty vibe from this girl. She was a perfect example of why humans needed to be placed under her control.

The Latino girl laughed, flipping some of her black hair out of the way. "Do you know who I am? I'm Paulina Sanchez. My papa is one of the richest people in this city."

"How nice for him." May said, rolling her eyes. Matthew was just kind of staring off into space.

"It is nice! And you're going to pay for this outfit you ruined too!" Paulina said, motioning down to her outfit. It was a little dusty, but otherwise fine. "And it isn't cheap either! The top alone cost $250!"

"Oh really? Well then, here's the money for the top." May said casually, pulling two hundreds and fifty from her back pack. She grinned at the stunned look on Paulina's face. "Oh, did you think I was poor? I'm richer than your slut ass will ever be."

"I am not a slut!" Paulina protested, angrily.

"Sure you are. Here, take the money." May said, plopping down on the ground. "I've got more than I know what to do with anyways... Matthew! Stop staring off at nothing and come on!" May turned to her brother, snapping her fingers. Matthew nodded and followed behind his sister, who had started walking, leaving behind a stunned Paulina.

Once they had turned a corner, May looked back at the girl. "You know, it's kind of a waste, but I just can't resist..." May grinned evilly. "What should I... oh, too perfect. Let's have her peel her face like an onion!" May said, chipperly, clapping her hands in amusement.

She watched in amusement as the Latino bimbo suddenly stopped walking and turned, heading into the nearby kitchen store. May could tell from the screams inside the store that everything was going according to plan. May smiled, breaking the command she held over the bimbo, smiling to hear her scream of pain and horror. She turned back to Matthew.

"Come on. Let's go pay a courtesy call to the Fentons."

* * *

"Can we help you?" Maddie Fenton asked, staring at the two people in the doorway. They looked related, but at the same time, looked like total opposites. The female of the two bowed, looking up at her.

"I've heard about your recent demigiest problem. I know the demigiest you've encountered quite well, and I believe I might hold some of the answers you seek..."

"You... how...?" Maddie looked at her, stunned, then shook her head. At a time like this, Maddie felt that she needed all the help she could get. "Never mind... please come in... ah..."

"May Clayborne. This is my younger brother, Matthew Clayborne. He was supposed to be the fiancee of the kidnapped Samantha Manson." That had been another one of May's plans. She had pulled it off using mind-controlled shape shifters, and a little mental push on the Mansons. It had been quite simple. She wanted to piss Danny off, so he'd act rashly, just as he had.

"Jack! Jack, stop drowning your misery in cookies and come out here!" Her large husband came out of the kitchen, holding the cookie jar still in one arm. "This is May and Matthew Clayborne. They say they know about that demigiest..."

Jack instantly perked up, plopping down on the couch. "Come on, sit down! It's so good to see the youth of America interested in ghost hunting!"

May plastered a fake smile on her face and sat down on the couch, Matthew plopping down besides her. Maddie sat on the couch across from them, along with her husband.

"So, you know of this demigiest?" Maddie asked.

"Yes. He's an escapee from a special ghost research laboratory in Area 51." May said, explaining, keeping her amusement out of her voice. Humans were so easy to fool. "It was a top secret operation."

"And how is it that your aware of this, miss?" Maddie asked, arching an eyebrow. "You look about nineteen."

"Actually, I'm twenty-seven." May smiled charmingly at them. "I don't look it, do I?" She frowned then. "But moving back onto the more important topic. We termed the demigiest 6821, or Phantom. Our guess is that he managed to steal your son's body. He most likely ate your son's soul." May grinned inwardly at the appalled looks on the faces of the two ghost hunters.

"Is there no way to get Danny back?" Maddie asked, her voice quiet.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Fenton. But I'm afraid there is no way." May said, looking down and shaking her head, in pseudo-sympathy. "I feel awful for having to deliver such terrible news to you. I know it must hurt."

Maddie nodded, silent for a moment. She then looked up, determination showing in her violet eyes. "Is there any way we can destroy this monster?"

May smiled. "Yes. There is. But I'm going to need your help..."


	15. The Ghost Zone

AN: Chapter Fifteen! Things are starting to heat up! No, really, it's burning in here! Help! (coughs) Anyways, kidnapped Sam, Danny being a little seductive, a weird ghost doctor and nurse who are married, Maddie being smart, May being subjected to Jack torture, May gettin' pissed, and Matthew cleaning his guns. Just for the record, the reason Sam, although she's a human, doesn't just phase through everything in the Ghost Zone is because of that pendent on her choker. It prevents that. And Danny always has his ecto-wings in the Ghost Zone, mainly because those babies have so not gotten enough screen time. (nod nod)

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, it belongs to Butch Hartman! May and Matthew Clayborne, Mori, and Nazami, however do. No touchie them! Noooo touchieeee!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Fifteen: The Ghost Zone

Sam's eyes fluttered open, and she pulled herself up, clutching her head. It felt like she had a major headache. She blinked slowly, her eyes gazing around the area, which, she realized with a shock, was not her room. Actually, she had no idea _where _she was. She seemed to be residing on a large piece of floating rock, floating in the middle of what seemed to be an endless sickly green color. Floating around them were swirls of pastel green energy, and doors of various design. Every so often, what appeared to be a ghost floated by.

Sam blinked, realizing that the settings weren't the only things that had changed. Somehow or the other, her clothing had changed. She was now wearing a violet corset, tied tightly together by criss-crossing black laces down the front. To her embarrassment, she wasn't wearing anything under it either, as it exposed a considerable amount of cleavage. She wore a long black pleated skirt, that ended at her ankles. She wore a black leather choker with a dark purple tear-drop shaped pendent and elbow-length, violet, fingerless gloves. Her feet were bare and she could feel that her hair was out of it's ponytail. Sam had short hair, but it grew thickly.

"You're awake?"

Sam blinked, searching around for the source of the voice. She saw Phantom sitting off to the side on an out-cropping of rock. He had a somewhat amused smile on his face, watching her. Sam noted that his ecto-wings were present. "...I am... but... where are we? And... what happened with my clothes?" Sam asked, looking down at her outfit.

"One, we're in the Ghost Zone, more specifically in my own personal liar. You know, that place where the portal in my parent's lab leads to? And two, I changed them. I like that outfit on you much better. And in case you're wondering, I had that outfit stored away here for quite some time. I stole it just for you, you know." Phantom flashed her a rather devilish grin, and Sam could feel herself heating up, especially when a certain obvious fact hit her.

"You... you changed my clothes!" Sam's blush spread over her face. "Then... th-that means.. y-you s-saw... m-me... n-n-n..."

"Naked?" Phantom finished, grinning. "Sure, mostly. I left your panties on though." The demigiest said casually, leaning back against another rock out-cropping behind him, spreading his legs out in front of him. "It was pretty nice..."

"You..." Sam's hand twitched and she got up from her sitting position and walked up, smacking Phantom hard across the face. "You inconsiderate jerk!"

Phantom blinked, surprised turning back up to Sam. "What was that for?" He muttered, annoyed, rubbing his face.

"You just think you can do whatever you want to me? Is that it?" Sam shouted, clenching her fists in anger.

"Yeah, pretty much." Phantom said, confused at why Sam was so angry. "What's wrong with that? You're mine, remember?"

"There are a million different things wrong with that, Danny! I don't even know where to begin!" Sam's violet eyes narrowed in anger. "And when did I say I was yours, anyways?"

"Well, it's not really something you agree too, it's just how it is." Phantom said, explaining logically. He cocked his head a bit, blinking, looking at Sam. "Isn't that how love is supposed to work?"

"Maybe for a ghost, Danny, but for humans, that's not how it's done!" Sam blinked then, frowning. "You mean you don't remember? You don't honestly think you've felt so possessive over me your entire life, do you?"

"Of course I have. I don't understand what you're trying to say Sam." Phantom said, getting up from the rock out-cropping. "The way I feel about you now, and the way I felt about you before the accident haven't changed at all..." Phantom said, leaning down to Sam, holding her chin carefully in his right hand, taking special care to make sure his claws didn't touch her skin, his crimson eyes staring into her violet ones. Phantom leaned in then, planting a kiss on Sam's lips, pulling away playfully after a bit.

Sam, once again, was too stunned to talk. This was the second time Danny had pulled something like this! It was really infuriating how he didn't seem to consider how she was feeling when he moved in for the kiss, and yet, somehow, it was still very... nice. She blinked then, shaking her head wildly in order to snap herself out of her trance. "Danny, you have to stop doing things like that!"

"Why? Didn't you like it?" Phantom asked, smiling charmingly at her. "Because you seemed to enjoy it quite a bit..."

"That's besides the point!" Sam shouted, then stopped, turning red, realizing that she had just admitted that she had actually liked it. To her horror, this caused the amused smirk on Phantom's face to grow bigger, amusement glinting in his crimson eyes.

"So you _did _like it? Hnnn, maybe I should kiss you like that some more..." Phantom leaned in closer to her, his pale face in front of hers. Sam felt herself turn completely red and she stumbled away, but wound up tripping over her skirts, and falling on the ground. "Oww..." She mumbled, rubbing her right ankle, which she felt a sharp pain in.

Phantom's seductive expression changed instantly, into one that seemed to be one of genuine worry. "Are you okay?" He asked, leaning down next to fallen Sam. "Did you hurt your ankle?"

"I... think... maybe." She muttered, rubbing her ankle. It _was _throbbing something awful.

Phantom sighed, running a hand through his white hair. "I guess it can't be helped then."

Sam looked up, eagerly. "You're going to take me back home?"

"No such luck." Phantom flashed a smile at her, which caused Sam's eye to twitch slightly. "But I do know a great doctor here. He'll patch you up in no time flat."

Sam arched an eyebrow. "A ghost doctor, Danny?"

"You seem to forget, Sam, all ghosts were once living creatures." Phantom picked up the girl, holding her close in his arms. He took to flight, and Sam found herself clinging tightly to him. As much as Danny was kind of freaking her out, she really, really, _really _didn't want to be dropped in this strange place.

Phantom paused in front of a door, a plain, stark white door. Holding Sam tightly with one arm, he opened it up and stepped inside. He placed Sam down carefully in a seat and looked around the room. It looked very much like a doctor's office, with the exception of the piles of manga, the packages of cigarettes, and the occasional animal plushie.

"Oi! Mori! You here?" Phantom called, knocking on the door that lead into the next room of this realm.

There was some crashing heard on the other side of the wall and a bit of shouting. Phantom and Sam exchanged a look, then stared blankly at the other door in the room. It opened up a few minutes later, and in stepped two people.

One was a man, with fairly tanned skin. He had short, neck-length, shaggy black hair and sleepy looking burgundy eyes, and was wearing a white dress shirt and a black tie. He wore khaki cargo pants, a pair of black combat boots, and wrist-length fingerless black gloves.

The other was a woman, who appeared to be Latino in origin. She had long, wavy, blue-black hair, with two streaks of crimson in it and light brown eyes. She was wearing a low, square-cut, blood-at-midnight, long-sleeved blouse, that ended just above her belly button. Her skirt was knee-length and black, with three crimson ribbons sewn into it around the lower parts. She wore black knee boots with platform heels.

"Oiii, Phantom, don't you know what 'regular visiting hours' are?" Mori asked, tugging angrily at the side of Phantom's face, his eyes narrowed. Phantom pulled away from him, sticking his tongue out at him.

"And don't you know better than to have sex in yer office, Mori?"

"I wasn't having sex!" Mori protested.

The girl rolled her eyes and looked at Sam, blinking. "Human?" She asked. Sam nodded. "I see... You must be _that _Sam..."

Sam blinked. Something about the way she said that made her a bit un-easy...

"I'm Nazami. Please excuse my husband. He's a big idiot." The Latino ghost smiled kindly at her. Sam blinked at her, scratching her head in confusion. _Danny, are all the people you know here this weird? Though you do certainly seem the type to attract the weird ones..._

Phantom and Mori had finally stopped arguing. "So, what did you need to see me for?" Mori asked, looking at Sam. "Contraceptives?"

"Don't say things like that with such a nonchalant look." Phantom shot him a glare. "She hurt her right ankle."

"So why didn't you just take her to a human doctor?" Mori asked, scratching his head. "Oh..." Mori grinned, it dawning on him. "You actually kidnapped her, didn't you?"

"Yeah." Phantom said. "Anyways, could'ja just patch her up real quick?"

"Well, let me take a look at it first." Mori said, kneeling down by Sam's feet. He took the right ankle in his hand, running his fingers over it. "Does this hurt?" He asked, lightly pushing against the ankle. Sam's eyes shot up in pain. "I'll take that as a yes then..." Mori frowned, standing up. "It looks like she just twisted it. I'll bandage it up for you. Nazami, the bandages please?"

"Coming right up!" Nazami smiled, pulling out some bandages from one of the cabinets, and tossing them to Mori. He caught them and unraveled them. "Do you need the medical tape too?" Nazami asked. Mori nodded and she tossed the tape to him as well.

Mori kneeled down again by Sam's ankles and quickly bandaged them up. "There you go. That should do it. Have demi-boy over there carry you for awhile, before you try and walk on it."

"Don't call me that!" Phantom shouted, kicking Mori in the back of the head.

"Don't kick me in the head, you idiot!" Mori turned around and the two started arguing again. Nazami sighed and sat down next to Sam.

"Just like children, aren't they?" Nazami asked, smiling. Sam couldn't help but nod in agreement. Nazami turned away, looking at the arguing pair. "Still, it's an improvement over how he was when we first met him..."

"How did you meet him?" Sam asked, curious.

Nazami smiled, turning back to Sam. "We were the ones who found him after he escaped from that wretched place. Back then, he could barely even form a coherent sentence..." Nazami trailed off, getting lost in her memories. She blinked out of her trance, shaking her head. "He's improved a lot over one year's time."

"I see..." Sam said. Mori and Phantom had finished their second argument, and Phantom was turning to her.

"Sam, we're going." And without giving Sam a chance to protest, Phantom picked her up, taking care to avoid slicing her with his claws.

"Remember, safe sex leads to nobody getting pissed off afterwards!" Mori called.

"Shut up! Not everyone's always thinking about sex like you do all the time!" Phantom shouted back at Mori, glaring at him. Mori shrugged, smiling at him. Phantom shook his head and turned, heading out of the door with Sam.

"Are those your friends?" Sam asked. Her fear and anger were kept at bay right now.

"With friends like those, who needs May?" Phantom mumbled, his eyes narrowing in annoyance. "Come on, we're going back to my place."

* * *

"So this is your Ghost Portal?" May asked, staring at the swirling green portal, her arms crossed in front of her. Matthew sat in the background, polishing one of his pistols.

"Yes. Do you really think he's taken Sam in there?" Maddie asked, frowning.

"I'm positive. It's the one place where he feels that he knows better than us." May said. She looked at the Specter Speeder, pointing at it. "I'll need to borrow this, after I determine 6821's location. Matthew! Stop polishing that stupid thing and release the probe."

Matthew nodded, pulling out a small, silver disk with a red lens in the front, from his trenchcoat, no bigger than a Frisbee. He handed it to May. May smiled, holding the probe carefully. "This baby travels fast. It'll find him, in no time flat."

May flipped a small switch on the side of the device, the red lens flaring to life. It floated out of her hands. "Probe, find the location of 6821, and report back to me." The probe floated off into the Ghost Zone, having acquired its orders. May turned back to Jack and Maddie.

"It still might take a few hours for the probe to find anything. In the mean time, I'm willing to answer most questions you might have."

"What can this Phantom do?" Maddie asked.

"Well let's see... Your standard invisibility, intangibility, flight, and ecto-blasts. He can absorb ecto-energy, the more he absorbs, the larger the ecto-wings get. He's definitely quite strong, and he can see in the dark. He can use ecto-fire, and a technique known as the Ghostly Wail. He can put people to sleep temporarily, as well as overshadow people." May tapped her chin, putting on a show of thinking. She knew all of his powers, granted, but it might appear odd if she looked like a total expert on Phantom. "I think that's about it..."

"Sounds like quite the impressive array of powers." Maddie said, sighing. "My poor baby... I wish this didn't have to happen to him. What would he think, if he knew that such a monster was using his body?" Maddie frowned, she could feel tears welling up at the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry... I just... need a moment..." Maddie said quietly, leaving the lab.

"Sooo, May, how do you feel about needlepoint?" Jack asked, grinning cluelessly at May.

"...needlepoint?" May arched an eyebrow. _...I don't think I've ever met a man whose head is as empty as his is. I'll have to make a note to put people like him away in special reservations. True idiots are dying breed, and it's fun to watch stupid people._

"Eee-yep. Needlepoint. It's both artsy and relaxing!" Jack said, nodding to himself, clueless to the thoughts running through his guest's head. Matthew had resumed polishing his pistol. "Come to think of it, how many of those pistols does your brother have?" Jack asked, randomly changing the subject.

May frowned. "He's probably carrying about six pistols, five grenades, three knives, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had a rifle or a machete tucked away into his bag..." May trailed off. She got the feeling that this was going to be a lonnnngggg few hours.

* * *

Maddie sighed, sitting down on the bed in her son's room. She picked up one of the pictures from his desk and looked at it, holding it carefully in her hands. It was a picture of her and Danny, back from when he was still small. Maddie smiled a bit, placing her hand over her son's face in the picture.

"Danny... My poor boy..." She mumbled. Maddie really was hoping that she was wrong, that they all were somehow wrong, and that strange boy who had shown up again at long last a few days ago was still somehow her only precious son. But all of the evidence seemingly suggested otherwise, and then that woman had shown up, offering the explanation they had sought. But something about it just seemed _wrong _to Maddie. Something about May seemed wrong, and something about Jazz seemed wrong.

She wasn't sure what to think. Could the strange demigiest hybrid actually be her son? What if something _had _happened to Danny during that lab accident? It was a strong possibility. But that still didn't explain how Danny had wound up as a demigiest. She knew that if it was true, if that boy really was Danny, then it must have been something terrible that caused him to break.

Maddie wanted to find Danny, or Phantom, or whoever that boy was. She had to ask him questions, she had to see him again to make up her mind. Maddie sighed, forgetting for a moment that she held her precious photograph, her hands relaxing. The picture fell against the ground, the frame shattering.

"Oh!" Maddie said, moving to carefully pick up the pieces. She blinked then, finding that there had been something else in the frame. "What is this?" Maddie picked it up, looking at it. It was a letter, written as if the person's hand was shaking. She frowned, sitting back up on the bed, beginning to read it aloud.

"Dear mom and dad..." Maddie blinked. "This is... This is from Danny! It must be the note... that we never found..." Maddie continued.

_I'm sorry... After the lab accident... after it... There was something that I discovered had happened to me. It... the portal... did something to me. I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I've ended up messing myself up... I'm really scared right now, but I don't know how to say anything to you... I'm afraid. I'm sorry. I think I just have to... get away. I have to think, I have to... figure these things out... I have to figure out what's wrong with me... -Danny_

"...Then... if he really ran away..." Maddie said, her eyes widening. "Then that means they're wrong! That is Danny... It really is..." Maddie put down the letter. She _had _to find him now, and apologize to him. She must have hurt him so much.

She marched out of Danny's room and into the basement. Jack and May looked up. Upon seeing Maddie, May's eyes instantly narrowed. Maddie ignored May, and hopped into the Specter Speeder.

"Maddie, where are going?" Jack asked.

"To find Danny!" Maddie shouted, firing up the vehicle, and gliding into the Ghost Zone before anyone could say another word.

"Damn!" May spat out, infuriated. Her light brown eyes narrowed. "That damn woman is going to ruin everything!"

"What do you mean, May?" Jack blinked.

"What I mean does not concern you. After you all... you want to sleep, don't you?" May turned to Jack, her eyes glowing lavender. Jack found himself wobbling on his feet, before he too, fell over into sleep.

"Damn... and without that Speeder, we have no way to get in there either..." May's eyes narrowed. "That woman is too smart for her good. I would have let her live if she had just played her part like she was supposed to! I knew I should have resorted to mind control! What good is a puppet if they don't dance when I ask them too?"

May cussed viciously then, for once, losing her cool. She hated, hated, _hated_ seeing her plans unravel. May sighed, placing a hand on her head, trying to cool down. Losing her temper wouldn't do any good. She had to remain cool, calm, and collected.

"After all... They have to come out sometime." May smiled cruelly. "And when they do... I'll be waiting."


	16. Acceptence

AN: Chapter Sixteen! Sorry for not updating anything yesterday, but yesterday was the math part of the Georgia High School Graduation Test, so I needed all the sleep I could get! Oh man, but, this story is winding down to it's close. Only the showdown with May and the aftermath remains left to tell. Oh, and the sequel. With a corrupt government. Yay corrupt governments! (giggles) I had a lot of fun writing the first part of this story between Danny and Sam. It was highly entertaining for me. Honestly though, this Danny has more mood swings than a pregnant woman. Ah well, I made him that way, and it's fun!

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but May and Matthew Clayborne do! Now, if anyone needs me, I'll be going back in time, and killing the inventor of standardized testing. Or better yet, I'll lock him in a room with May for a couple hours. Yep. That'll stop him from making us suffer!

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Sixteen: Acceptence

Phantom and Sam had arrived back at Phantom's lair. Sam was currently resting on a rock outcropping, keeping her twisted ankle elevated on another outcropping. She looked at Phantom, then back down at her new outfit again. "So, any chance that I could have my own clothing back?"

Phantom flashed her an amused smile. "Nope."

"And why not?" Sam glared at him slightly.

"Because I burned them, obviously." Phantom said cooly, leaning back on his throne-like rock, putting one leg over the other, amused.

Sam's eyes twitched. "You _burned _them?"

"Un-huh. I don't see why you're so upset though. You look _much _better in that outfit, Sam. Like a gothic princess." Phantom said, staring at her. Sam turned red, which only caused Phantom's amused smile to grow.

"Pervert!" Sam shouted at him, annoyed at his current, somewhat arrogant attitude. Honestly, Danny had so many mood swings that she was starting to get a headache from keeping up with them all. He could be arrogant, cocky, annoying, inconsiderate, somewhat perverted, and an all-around pain in the arse, but at the same time he could be depressed, angsty, bitter, and full of self loathing. He could be angry and just downright scary, especially when it came to talk of May, and his many plans to take vengeance on her. He could be, every so often, just like any other teenager, carefree and joking with his friends. She had seen that for the first time with Mori and Nazami, and to be honest, the fact that that particular side of Danny was still there surprised her a bit.

Danny was weak, very weak. Sam had come to realize that. He acted very, very strong, but in reality, he was one of the weakest people she had ever met. Maybe not physically, oh no, but mentally, yes. She could tell that no matter what his mood might be, that he hated himself under every one of them. She silently wished that she could do something about that, that she could somehow fix him, but she simply didn't know how to. And Sam hated feeling helpless.

Phantom shrugged. "Hey, it's not my fault you're beautiful." Those words succeeded at making Sam's blush bigger, and Phantom's devilish smirk wider.

"You're just saying things like that so I won't just run off." Sam said, crossing her arms in a huff.

Phantom laughed, getting up from his relaxed sitting position and moving over by Sam, sitting down next to her. Sam couldn't help but turned red at the close contact, especially when Phantom, surprisingly, leaned his head down on her shoulder.

"Uh... Danny?" Sam blinked, nervous.

"You know, you smell nice." Phantom looked up from her shoulder. "I thought you didn't wear perfume?"

"Um, I don't." Sam said, blinking.

"Hnnn..." Phantom's grin grew wider. "I guess this lovely scent is all you then." Phantom smirked and leaned in closer to her neck, placing a quick kiss on it. Sam's entire face heated up, and she tried to push him away.

"W-what was that for!" Sam asked, flustered.

Phantom laughed, amused. "I wanted to see how it tasted. Your neck, you know."

"What are you, a vampire?" Sam glared at him, but she couldn't deny that she sorta of liked that.

"Demigiest, but I guess it's close enough. You know, without all the blood-sucking, the burning up in the sun, the stake myths, the allergy to garlic, and being nocturnal." Phantom paused, crossing his arms, and tilting his head in thought. "Hm, I guess vampires and demigiests really don't have anything in common after all... Except for the being undead part."

There was that somewhat carefree side to Danny again. "But don't do that again. It's really... um, odd."

"But you _like _the odd." Phantom grinned, playfully teasing her. His teasing was rewarded by the blush returning to Sam's face. She looked even prettier when she blushed, one of the reasons he liked making her do it so often. That, and it was just plain fun. "Hey, Sam, are you still a virgin?"

Sam stared at him in horror for a few seconds, then landed a hard punch to his face, knocking Phantom off of the outcropping. "What the heck made you ask something like that?" She shouted, both embarrassed and annoyed.

Phantom, instead of getting up, smirked, and grabbed Sam's arm, pulling her down on top of him, though taking care so that he wouldn't hurt her ankle even more. Sam let out a shout, tumbling on top of Phantom.

Phantom whispered into her ear, which was close to his mouth. "Because I wanted to see how you'd react."

* * *

A few minutes into the Ghost Zone, it occurred to Maddie that she had a serious problem.

She had absolutely _no idea _where Danny was.

Maddie sighed, rubbing her forehead, thinking. "Okay Maddie, think. There must be something on the Speeder that will help..." She suddenly remembered that Jack had installed a Real World Item Detector on the Specter Speeder. She could use it to find Sam, and where Sam was, she was sure Danny would be. Sam, after all, seemed to be his object of obsession.

It was a common trait among ghosts to have strong obsessions with a person, place, or object. In demigiests, vengeful spirits, and poltergeists, that obsession was supposedly especially strong. Vengeful spirits and poltergeists were usually obsessed on destroying, be it a certain person, or a certain group of people, while demigiests were obsessed with something, usually a person, to the point where it was bordering on severe obsessive compulsive disorder.

"Let's see... where did he..." Maddie looked around the control panel, her eyes lighting up when she found what she was seeking. She flipped on the Real World Item Detector. After a minute, a blip appeared on the screen. "There they are! And they're close, too."

Maddie turned the Speeder in the direction of the blip, closing in on it. She honestly had no idea what she was going to say to Danny when she got there, but hopefully something would hit her. She just hoped Danny would listen to her, and not think it was some kind of trick. She couldn't blame him if he did, however...

Maddie closed in on the rock outcropping, moving the Speeder in close for landing. She got out, spotting the two people.

And stopped, dead in her tracks.

Sam was lying _on top _of Danny. For a second, Maddie just stood there, stunned beyond words. The two were so wrapped up in... well, whatever it was that they were doing, that they hadn't noticed Maddie standing there yet. Maddie regained herself, and cleared her throat, advancing on the two.

"And _what _do you two think you're doing?"

The two teens quickly snapped to attention, turning to stare in shock at Maddie. She had her arms crossed, tapping her foot in a disapproving fashion.

Phantom's crimson eyes narrowed and he shot up from where he was on the ground, poised, ready for anything. "What are you doing here!" He hissed out, glaring hatred at Maddie. "Come to try and destroy me?

Sam looked between the two, unsure of what to say or do. She wanted to say something to defend Danny, to try and convince Mrs. Fenton that Danny wasn't evil, and that he was her son, but she was also still flustered at the embarrassing, if not misleading, situation that Mrs. Fenton had found them in. She silently cursed Danny for doing something like that.

Maddie sighed, her look of disapproval melting away into one of love. "I came here to apologize to you, Danny."

Phantom stared at her, baffled, although he kept up his guard. "...What are you trying to say?" He asked suspiciously, his eyes never leaving his mother.

Maddie smiled at him. "I mean I'm sorry, Danny. For doubting you. I was just... No." Maddie shook her head. "There's no excuse for not trusting you. I should have from the very start. Your father and I must have caused you a lot of grief, and for that, I'm terribly, terribly sorry Danny." Maddie looked at Phantom, smiling. "You know your father and I will always love you, no matter what Danny. Regardless of what you are, or where you've been. You're our son, and nothing can ever change that."

Phantom took a step back, staring at his mother, confusion flickering through his crimson eyes. He didn't understand what was going on. His brain couldn't seem to comprehend that his mother was standing there, apologizing to him. Not only that, but she was _accepting _him, despite the fact that he was, in his opinion, a plague, something that didn't belong in either the world of the living, or the world of the dead. It had been drilled into his head so many times that his parents would never accept him like this, that no one would ever accept him like this, that he had started to believe it.

Phantom took another step back, searching almost desperately in his mother's eyes for some sign of deceit, for some sign of deception, but he found none. He couldn't understand it. She was a human, how could she possibly accept someone like him?

Sam could, but that's because Sam was _different _from other humans, she wasn't cold-hearted, and she embraced those that were different. She wasn't like those humans who ran screaming in fear, or those humans who used those that were different as scapegoats for all the world's ills, or even like those humans who simply hated for no other reason than to hate. She was pure, in his eyes, untouched by greed or corruption. She was perfect.

Phantom had always assumed that his parents, his friends, and everyone else would fall into one of those three categories. Fear, Anger, and Hate. He was unable to comprehend any other emotions towards him from other people. He was sure that once they knew who he was, once they knew what he was, that's all he would get from them.

Jazz's reaction had baffled him like this as well, although he acted differently toward it. He used his own anger to push her away. She was confusing him, and he didn't like that. He wanted her to go somewhere where he wouldn't have to think about it, where he wouldn't have to see her, and her smiling, _accepting _face.

Acceptance. It was a concept almost alien to him. The only person who he thought, or hoped, accepted him for what he was, was Sam. She was the only one he expected too, and then only halfway so. Even he didn't accept himself. How could he? It had been drilled into his head, over and over again, that he was a freak, an abomination, a monster, that he didn't deserve the life that he clung to so desperately.

When he had started to change, he had started to accept the fact that he was a monster as a fact. He didn't realize that it was May's plan all along. There was more to torture than just physical pain. True agony came in the form of mental suffering, and May was a person who had mastered both. Being telepathic helped. She knew that if you told someone something enough, that they would eventually believe that it was true. Granted, she hadn't expected him to turn into a demigiest, but that fact actually _increased _her pleasure.

"Danny?" Maddie said worriedly, concern in her violet eyes. Sam had pulled herself back up onto the rock outcropping, and she too, was looking at Phantom with concern. Maddie moved a little towards Phantom, whose eyes widened, and he took a few more panicked steps backwards. "Danny, talk to me."

"I..." Phantom spoke for the first time since his mother's apology, his voice wavering. "You... tricking me...? You're... just trying to trick me, right? This... this is a trap, isn't it? May's somewhere around here... waiting to trap me, and drag me back there isn't she?" Phantom's eyes darted around the large, flat, floating boulder, but almost to his dismay, he saw no one there but himself, Sam, and his mother.

"It's not a trick, Danny. Everything I'm saying is true." Maddie smiled at him, taking another slow step closer to him. Phantom scrambled back another step. He was in shock, Maddie could tell. She got the feeling that he expected that no one could ever possibly accept him for what he was. _Or at least, no one but Sam. _She thought, casting a quick glance at the girl, noting for the first time, in surprise, her outfit change. But she couldn't focus on that right now, she had far more important matters at hand, like her son.

"...Really?" Phantom asked, still uncertain. He wanted to trust his mother, but at the same time, the part of him that was a ghost was telling him not to, telling him that it must be some sort of trick.

"Yes, really." Maddie said, reaching out a hand, and placing it on Phantom's shoulder. Phantom instantly tensed up, as if he were ready to suddenly strike out at any moment. Panic surged through his crimson eyes for a few seconds, but it eventually died down, as well as the tension in his body.

Sam watched this, smiling off to the side. She was really very happy for Danny. And while she got the feeling that Danny might never be able to be the same boy she had once known, at the very least he might be able to stop hating himself, and open up a little bit more. Of course, Sam knew that there was probably one more thing they had to deal with first-May.

"Huh?" Sam blinked, looking up. She noticed a small, silver, Frisbee-like probe floating above the boulder. "Hey, what's that?"

Maddie turned, looking up at it. Her eyes narrowed. "That's May's probe! She sent it out to try and find Danny's hiding place."

"Is that so?" Phantom said, his mood shifting once again. He raised a hand up and fired a bolt of ecto-fire at the probe, quickly burning it into ashes. "And now she'll never know."

"Danny, you don't intend on staying in here forever, do you?" Maddie asked.

"Well, what if I do?" Phantom's mood shifted again, his eyes flashing in annoyance. "What's wrong with that?"

Maddie sighed. "You can't just run away from your problems, Danny. I don't know what happened between you and that woman, but I know that things aren't ever going to be finished until you do something about it. Running away just delays things, it solves nothing." Maddie reasoned, crossing her arms in front of her. "Plus, how do expect Sam to eat? I know when you're a ghost, you probably have no need of food, but Sam's human, and that's a different story entirely."

Phantom blinked, smacking himself. He couldn't believe he had forgotten about something as crucial as food. Granted, there was food in the Ghost Zone, but it was meant for ghosts, and it would most likely do nothing for a human. Plus, as much as he hated to admit it, his mother had a point. May would pursue him to the ends of the earth, if necessary. Besides, in all honesty, Phantom felt as if he would quite enjoy feeling May's neck break in his hands. It was high time someone taught that woman a lesson... and then killed her.

"So, she's on the other side of the Ghost Portal right now, huh?" Phantom asked, his eyes narrowing in thought. "Which means she's probably waiting very patiently for us to come out, so a surprise attack is out of the question. She'll probably attack us as soon as we come out of the portal." Phantom mused, closing his eyes in thought. "She's the biggest bitch I've ever known, but she's still just an ordinary human, so once we take away whatever weapons she has, we'll be in the clear. And I can see how easily her head pops off..." A vicious smile spread across Phantom's face, which sent involuntary cold shivers down the spines of both Sam and Maddie. This particular aspect of Danny's personality was something that was going to take a little getting used too. For as much as they didn't want to be, they couldn't help but be frightened. It was, after all, only natural.

"There's another person there with here, Matthew Clayborne." Maddie said, regaining her voice. "The boy, if I recall correctly, that Sam's parents arranged for her to be married too." She paused, thinking. "He seems to be keeping a vast arsenal on his person."

"Pfft. As if human weapons could even lay a hand on me." Phantom rolled his eyes. "I'll enjoy killing him too. Nobody tries to take my Sam away from me..."

"Would you stop saying that I belong to you!" Sam shouted, her eyes twitching in annoyance.

"He can't help it, Sam. You're his object of obsession and I don't think there's anything you can do to change that." Maddie said, in a logical tone. "Besides, I thought you liked Danny?"

Sam blushed, muttering something incoherent, that no one but her understood. A devilish smirk appeared on Phantom's face once again.

Maddie quickly decided to change to subject, onto a matter that she found far more important. "But Danny... what _did _happen between you and May? Where were you for those four years?" Maddie asked, motherly concern showing in her eyes. She hated not knowing about part of her son's life, especially when that part had effected him so much. It almost made her feel like she was an irresponsible mother.

"...I don't like to talk about it. It suffices to say that May's a sadistic wench, who gets her kicks by torturing sub-humans at a top secret governmental research facility called The Institute, in which she helps develop weapons for the government, though in all honesty, I think May's just trying to develop weapons for herself, so she can use them to take over the world, starting with the United States of America."

"That's horrible!" Maddie exclaimed, her eyes narrowing. _How could I have possibly trusted someone like that, even if it was just for a short period of time? Foolish, foolish Maddie. How could I have possibly been so foolish? You were so caught up in your denial, that you let a deranged woman into your house, whose only purpose currently seems to be to use your son as a weapon. I should have checked Jazz's neck for that chip Danny was talking about. It could have saved everyone a lot of grief, and then we probably wouldn't even be in this situation right now._

"It gets worse, but... those things... you don't need to know." Phantom said, trailing off, his eyes not meeting hers. Maddie's heart lurched and she got the sudden urge to reach out and hold her son, an urge which she gave into, wrapping her arms around Phantom.

Phantom blinked, his eyes going wide from shock. He hadn't expected his mother to suddenly do something like this. "Uh... why are you... hugging me?" Phantom asked, confused. Sometimes humans did things that just baffled him. He didn't realize that he used to know why they did these things, he just assumed that he always didn't know.

"It's just... I'm so sorry Danny. I'm so sorry that you had to suffer, and I'm so sorry that you were in so much pain for so long." Maddie said, her voice quite, pulling slowly away from her hybrid son.

Phantom blinked. "Why are you sorry? It's not you're fault." There it was again, people being sorry for things that weren't they're fault. Sam had done it, and now so was his mother. Why should anyone be sorry for something that's not their fault?

Maddie smiled gently at him. "It's not important Danny. Just know that I am." Maddie blinked, looking back over at Sam. "By the way, when did Sam get that outfit?"

"Oh, I changed her into it when I brought her here." Phantom said, casually.

Maddie stared at him, then looked back at Sam, who had turned a lovely shade of beet red. She put two and two together, and turned to stare back at her son. "...you saw her naked?"

"Yeah. So?"

Maddie rubbed her forehead, sighing, but said nothing. She knew that there really was no reasoning with a demigiest over it's treatment of it's object of obsession. "Nevermind... Let's just get into the Speeder." Phantom picked up Sam, and Maddie turned back, frowning. "Sam can walk on her own, Danny?"

"Actually, Mrs. Fenton, I twisted my ankle. I, um, tripped." She wasn't going to say that she tripped because she was trying to get away from Danny's advances, she had enough embarrassment for one day. Besides, right now, they needed to think on more serious matters- like defeating May and Matthew.

Maddie started the Specter Speeder once they were all safely inside. Maddie took a deep breath and lifted it up off the boulder, putting it on a course for the entrance to the Ghost Portal, where outside, May Clayborne was waiting for them.


	17. The Final Showdown

AN: Chapter Seventeen! The long awaited showdown between May and Danny, and the even more long-awaited death of May. I got lots of help from Zillenrose with May's death design, so let's all give her a hand folks! Plus, she did two lovely pieces of fanart for me, and that makes me happeh. I hope no one is disappointed with this! This is the first battle chapter I've ever written, but I gotta say, I like it.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but May and Matthew Clayborne do. Ah... she's dead at last.

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Seventeen: The Final Showdown

Twenty-seven year old May Clayborne stood watching the Ghost Portal carefully, waiting for Danny, Sam, and Maddie to come out. She was severely pissed off that that woman had tried to defy her, and as a result, ruined the plans that she had. But no matter, it was merely a minor setback. She would never be defeated by a regular human, much less a sub-human beast. Still, Maddie Fenton would have to perish for her transgression. She would pin the blame for her murder on Danny, furthering his already trashed reputation.

Now all she had to do was wait for them to come out. And she was ready. She knew that Danny wouldn't go down without a fight, and she was ready to give it to him. _Nobody _escaped from May Clayborne, be they a human, a sub-human beast, or even a god. That was the way things worked, that was the way things always worked. She made sure of it.

"Ah, here they come..." She smirked, seeing the portal flare to life. A few moments later the Specter Speeder emerged. Phantom jumped out of it before it set down, coming face to face with May. His crimson eyes narrowed, staring with an intense hatred into May's cruel and amused brown eyes. A sadistic smile spread across May's face, her arms crossing in front of her chest. "Welcome back to the human world, Danny. I've come to take you back where you belong."

"I don't belong anywhere but here, May." Phantom said, his eyes narrowing further. "You'll never take me back. After all, I'm stronger than you. All the ghost-hunting equipment in the world can't save you from the well deserved death I'm going to give you."

"Hnnn... And is your dear little girlfriend, and your sweet mother going to help you with that as well?" May said cooly, her eyes looking over to the now landed Specter Speeder. Sam and Maddie had stepped out, each of them staring at the two, carefully, unsure of their role in the showdown that they all knew was coming.

"Hmph. Why would I need their help? After all, you're only human and I'm that and more." Phantom smirked. "You don't have a chance."

"Tsk, tsk. Danny, Danny, Danny. Don't you know that people who become over-confident wind up dying?" May returned his smirk, then snapped her fingers. Matthew looked up, standing up. "Matthew, keep an eye on those two. If they even try to help him, shoot them, and do it in the most painful way possible."

Matthew nodded an upholstered two of his handguns, training them on both Sam and Maddie. Phantom's glare deepened.

"I told you, this is between the two of us, you whore!" He spat out.

May laughed, placing her hands on her hips. "I know that. I'm simply reinforcing that fact to them." May turned to look at Sam and Maddie. "And don't even think that he won't shot. Because he will, without so much as a second thought. He is, after all, my brother." _Not to mention he's under my mind-control. But that's a fact they don't need to know._

"You play dirty..." Sam said, through gritted teeth. She had no doubt that the teenager _would _shoot, he seemed just so utterly emotionless. It was to be expected from someone related to May though, she assumed. Her whole family must have been seriously messed up. How could her parents have been fooled by this woman, and her crazy family? She didn't think they were _that _dumb. _Looks like I might have been wrong about that, though..._

May turned back to Phantom. "So, are we going to do this or not? Oh, and do try and not to die completely. You'll become useless to me then." May remarked, pulling out her psi-enhancing gun from a holster she had hidden underneath her skirt.

"A gun? Is that all you're going to take me on with?" Phantom asked, laughing. "I think you've severely underestimated what I'm capable of, May."

"I think you're the one who's doing the underestimating, Danny." May said cooly, releasing the safety on the gun and pulling the trigger, her psi energy flowing down into the gun into a large lavender-colored blast. Phantom barely had time to dodge it, the blast flying through the portal, and into the depths of the Ghost Zone.

"What... the... _hell?_" He spat out, staring at the gun, his eyes wide with shock. "What the heck is that!"

"It's a psi enhancer. Turns psychic energy into a devastating force." May smirked at the shock coming across the faces of those assembled. "Oh yes, you ignorant fools. I'm a psychic. What a surprise, hm? But then, how do you think someone of my age came to have such a high position in the government, hm? Not by my brains alone, although I have those in abundance."

"How can you possibly be a psychic, and yet still hate people like Danny?" Sam shouted, staring at May, her violet eyes blazing in anger. "You freaking hypocrite! You're just like your so-called sub-humans!"

"Oh, am I?" May laughed, smirking at Sam. "You see, there's a difference between me and them. I'm not a sub-human, I'm an evolved human. Simply put, I'm better than every other being in existence, so therefore, I can do whatever I like."

"You're sick..." Sam said, narrowing her eyes.

May shrugged. "Maybe so. But who are you to pass judgement on me? I'm far above you, foolish girl. Your opinions matter naught to me." She smiled cruelly at Sam, before her eyes focused back on Phantom. The demigiest was glaring at her, intense hate blazing out of his crimson eyes. May almost laughed, amused.

"Well Danny? Are you actually going to back up all of those threats you made? About how you're going to kill me, rip me to pieces, and then possibly eat my liver?" May asked, casually releasing and un-releasing the gun's safety. She felt secure in the knowledge that the boy could _never _even possibly come close to hurting her.

A smirk spread across Phantom's face, his eyes narrowing. "You have no idea how much I'm going to keep those threats, May. Doesn't matter if you're a psychic-I'm _still _going to hand your ass over to you, preferably in bite-sized pieces."

Phantom hurled a blast of vermilion ecto-fire at May. The psychic dropped to the ground, rolling under it, and firing another psi blast at Phantom from her gun. Phantom jumped to avoid it, hanging in the air as he hurled down another wave of ecto fire at the brunette. May cocked the pistol, firing a psi blast from it into the blast, the two canceling each other out.

"Danny! If you keep fighting here, you're going to bring the whole place down!" Maddie shouted. Already there were already huge cracks in the walls, and a part of the lab had caught on fire. Maddie sucked in her teeth, watching the fire with worry. It was slowly starting to spread, and before long, it would engulf the entire lab.

Phantom followed her eyes to the fire, cursing himself for his stupidity. He should have known better than to try and fight in the basement. If it collapsed, then the whole house would collapse. Then they would have no place to live. Oh, and they'd probably be dead too.

May eyed the fire as well, grinning maliciously. It didn't matter to her whether or not the house collapsed. She couldn't care less. She'd simply use her telekinesis to keep the rock from falling on her. No way in hell was she going to let Phantom take the fight outside. This was too much fun. She cocked the gun, aiming it at Phantom, and firing off a blast at him. This one was smaller than the previous two, which annoyed May for a short while.

Phantom, who had been distracted by the portion of the lab that had caught on fire, failed to take notice of the psi blast being fired at him.

"_Danny!"_ Sam screamed, her violet eyes going wide.

Phantom turned around, but too late, and the blast struck him hard in the shoulder. His crimson eyes shot up, and he howled in pain, clamping his hand over his shoulder. The blast had taken out a decent sized chunk of his shoulder, and he was leaking ectoplasm like crazy. "Da-damn..." He said, slowly, wincing. He should have known better than to let his guard down, even just for a short period of time.

May smirked, laughing, rather amused. "How pathetic! Is this really all you have to offer, my dear little demigiest?"

"Shut up, you damn wench!" Phantom shouted angrily. He was losing the ectoplasm, his lifesblood in ghost form, fast. There was only one option available to him, and he didn't really like it. Once again the ecto fire flared to life in his hand, only this time, instead of hurling it at May, though he wanted too, he reached over to his wounded shoulder and clamped the ecto-fire covered hand over it, wincing his eyes shut. He let out another howl of pain, closing your own wound like that wasn't very fun.

May arched an eyebrow. She honestly hadn't expected Danny to try and close his own wound like that. She should have expected as much though, from the way the boy despised himself. Causing himself a little pain in order to achieve his goals was just like him. She smirked, though, thoroughly enjoying watching the pain that the process was causing him. "Having fun there, Danny?" She asked, in a taunting voice.

"It's a real party..." Phantom said, through gritted teeth, removing his hand from his shoulder, dispersing the ecto fire around it. He had managed to close the wound in his shoulder, but he still had to be careful. One wrong move, and it would only open right back up, and he really, really, didn't want to have to do that again.

The fire in the lab had started to spread. Phantom looked at it briefly again, silently cursing himself once more. He would have to switch to the less powerful ecto blasts, using the ecto fire in a setting like this was far too risky. Unless he managed to draw May outside, but he knew that the psychic would never allow for that. Still, he had to try his hardest. He didn't want to put Sam in any more danger than he already had. Oh, and his parents as well.

"Come on May, what good is defeating me going to do if you get crushed under a pile of rubble afterwards?" Phantom said, watching her carefully. No more taking his eyes off of her for an extended period of time. May was a person who would have absolutely no qualms about shooting someone in the back. Of course, Phantom wouldn't have any qualms about shooting May in the back either, so he supposed he really shouldn't be talking.

"Did you miss the part where I'm psychic Danny?" May remarked, arching an eyebrow. "All it would take to save myself would be just a little telekinetic force on the falling rubble. And on you as well, since your no good to me all dead."

"And what makes you think you'd be able to keep me even if you did manage to defeat me?" Phantom sneered at May. "Remember, May, you're mind control devices don't work on me anymore."

May smirked. "There are other, far more painful ways to keep you in line, Danny. You wouldn't be the first person immune to the mind control chip. Or did you honestly think that I had no back-up plan?" She asked, her voice sounding amused.

_Crap, I did think that. _Phantom thought, his eye twitching in slight annoyance. "Shut up!" He yelled at her, hurling an ecto-blast at her. May avoided it by ducking downwards. Phantom took no hesitation, however, in throwing a second after his first, one that May did not expect coming. She was smashed back into the wall by the blast, her body forming a large dent in the wall.

Phantom smirked. "How do you like that, huh?"

May coughed, taking in a sharp, painful breath, glad to see that no blood was coming from her mouth. The blast hadn't cause that much damage internally, then. She pulled herself up from the wall, glaring bloody murder at Phantom, and cocked her pistol, firing again at the demigiest.

Phantom dodged it, flying head on into the room. May had no time to duck, as Phantom grabbed her, turning her intangible and hurling the both of them up from the basement and outside onto the streets. This way, he wouldn't have to hold back. Who cares if the town got trashed, anyways? It would give the people of Amity Park something to get exited over. The city was way too dull, anyways.

"Awww, how sweet. The little freak hybrid trying to protect his family? I thought you didn't give a damn about humans, Danny." May said, smirking.

"Shut it! What the hell would you know anyways?" Phantom shouted. "You might have been insisting that _I _was the monster, but the true monster here, May, is you!" Phantom hurled a bolt of ecto fire at the psychic woman. May jumped back, managing to dodge it. Phantom smirked though, seeing a look of pain cross briefly through her eyes. She was still feeling the impact of her earlier wound.

"At least I can pass as a human." May said, glaring at Phantom. "Tell me, how many times have you had to trim down those claws of yours? You'll never be able to blend in, no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try! You'll be hated and feared wherever you go, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"Shut up!" Phantom hissed, hurling another bolt of ecto fire at her. May avoided it, smirking at him. He was too enraged to notice that she was deliberately trying to piss him off. The more angry he got, the worse his aim would get, or at least, that was her theory.

"Awww, poor little freak!" May shouted at him, smirking, firing another psi blast from her gun. Danny dodged it, the blast flying on, until it collided with the clocktower a few blocks away, causing it to crumple to the ground. Phantom hissed, hurling another bolt of ecto fire at her. "Is that all you can-GAH!" May jumped back, her eyes wide. Phantom had used the time to close in on May, swiping at her with his claws. They now grazed her right arm, and May winced.

"You bastard! Do you know how long it took for me to find a good healer for the last wound you gave me?" She shouted, pointing her psi pistol at him, firing it off at close range. Phantom had no time to dodge, taking the blast and hurtling into a nearby building, leaving a large dent in the wall. He winced, collapsing on one knee, coughing up a bit of his blood-mixed ectoplasm.

"Time to come back with me, Danny." May said, smirking, her cruel brown eyes flashing with amusement.

"_STOP!"_ The shout was followed by a chunk of rubble flying through the air, striking May in the head. The woman hissed, turning around. Standing behind them, having escaped the lab, were Sam and Maddie. Maddie was porting along her unconscious husband Jack, which had made her progress especially difficult. They had managed to escape from Matthew, knocking the boy out cold.

"You two! I thought I told you not to interfere." May glared at them, her eyes narrowing. "I _was _going to simply erase your memories and let you live in peace, but I think I've changed my mind!" May shouted, cocking her pistol and pointing it at Sam, pulling the trigger. The blast was much smaller than the others, but it would do, May thought.

Sam didn't have enough time to get out of the way, merely having to try her best to avoid the full impact of the blast. She took it hard to her lower stomach, doubling over and clutching at the wound, stunned. It hurt as much as if a bullet had been fired at her, only it went deeper.

May's eyes narrowed. "You lucked out." She aimed the pistol at her again and prepared to fire.

The blast never made it out of the pistol. It was crushed to pieces, a clawed hand clamping over it, and shattering it. May stumbled back, her eyes wide with surprise. She hadn't expected Phantom to be able to recover from such a wound so quickly-he had obviously gotten an internal injury from it.

"You..." He said slowly, his voice low and threatening. "You hurt Sam..." He looked up at her, his crimson eyes blazing, the pupils narrowed into tiny serpentine slits. "I'm going to kill you..." He smirked, a look of pure insanity crossing through his eyes.

For the first time in her life, May felt fear. The feeling was so alien to her, that it froze her in place, and she was unable to move, unable to react, as Phantom reared up a large blast of ecto fire, larger than his previous ones, and fired it at May. The woman took it, screaming in pain.

"How do you like it? How do you like being the one screaming?" Phantom laughed, switching to an ecto-blast, hurling it at May. The blast took the form of pressure, hurling the woman down a considerable way, smashing into the rubble of the clocktower. Phantom laughed, his voice unstrung, flying over towards May quickly.

May's eyes glowed lavender, as she tried to push him back with a telekinetic force. Phantom, however, threw up a ghost shield, preventing the burnt of the pressure from blowing him back. A few cuts formed on his body, ectoplasm leaking out. Phantom smirked as the telekinetic force died down, slashing out at May with his claws, cutting her deep into the stomach. He didn't want to kill her instantly, he wanted to make her suffer first, wanted to make her scream, like she had used to do to him. Payback.

Revenge was a sweet, sweet thing indeed.

May howled in pain, her eyes going wide as she saw the crimson fluid seeping out of her body. Blood, her blood. She was _failing, _she was _losing. _She struggled to get up, clamping her eyes shut and concentrating. The rubble around her shot up, hurling at Phantom. Phantom merely laughed, turning intangible, the rubble flying through him. He spotted something he liked however, and turned tangible, grabbing it. It was the second hand of the clocktower. He looked at May, delighting in how quickly her face paled.

He smirked, turning around the hand to the pointed end and hurled it at May. It struck her through the stomach, the weight of it driving her down to the ground. Her eyes went wide, her hands pathetically trying to clutch at the hand. Phantom had closed in on her in moments, glad that the she hadn't died instantly.

"Hey May?" Phantom asked, leaning in close to her. "How does it feel to die?" He asked cooly, reaching out with a clawed hand, digging it into her chest, slicing it open. He wrenched out her heart. The last thing May ever saw before she died was the smirk on the face of the ghost boy who she thought would be simple to retrieve.

She had failed, and she had been executed for her failure. The irony was too great.

Phantom smirked, staring down at the heart in his hands. "...She actually had one. Who knew?" He shrugged, crushing the heart in his hands, May's blood exploding out from it, splashing all over the demigiest hybrid.

He winced then, his pain coming back to him in a rush. He doubled over with it, involuntarily resuming human form, quickly blacking out afterwards.


	18. The Aftermath

AN: And here she is! The last chapter of Dangerous Obsessions. But don't worry, for there shall be a sequel, "Wanted". This is a fairly short chapter, and I'm being evil because you don't see Danny and Sam's date... but to make up for it, the first chapter of the next story starts on a beach! Which means, Danny in swim trunks! WOO HOO! Also tying up a loose end with how Desiree got there.

Danny Phantom doesn't belong to me, but May, Matthew, and Nazami, do! Oh, oh, oh, and check out the awesome fanart that was done for me! Remember to take out the spaces, though!

www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 31262074/

Dangerous Obsessions

Chapter Eighteen: The Aftermath

"Man, I cannot believe you guys had all that fun without me!"

"I'm not sure fun is the right word for it, Tucker." Sam remarked, shooting a glare at her Tucker. Danny simply leaned back in his seat, his feet up on the desk, an amused eyebrow arched. He still had bandages wrapped around his ribs and his wounded shoulder, but his parents had determined that he was good to go.

It had been a week since Danny's final showdown with May. Needless to say, the news media were all over the incident as soon as they could. Fortunately, no one had been around when Danny changed back into a human, everyone having fled the scene. It wasn't like in movies, where there was one fascinated person that stuck behind, everyone bolted out of fear.

Danny and Sam had been quickly treated by the Fentons. Danny had broken three ribs, as well as having numerous scars. Sam hadn't lost that much blood, thanks to quick action from Maddie. Maddie had torn Sam's skirt, and used the fabric to make a makeshift bandage for the gothic girl. She had applied pressure to it, until it finally stopped bleeding. The shot had luckily avoided any vital organs or major veins as well.

The fires in the lab had been put out, and they were currently in the process of fixing the dented walls and broke equipment. Jack and Maddie had decided to seal the ghost portal shut for a month, which they figured was the amount of time it would take for them to recuperate.

At the instant of May's death, her mind control chips lost their power. Jazz, who was in the middle of talking to a cop about her supposed kidnapping by Danny, had a pretty hard time explaining what had happened. She didn't want to give too much away, so she said that a bunch of punks who disliked Danny strongly had kidnapped her, and threatened to kill her if she didn't blame Danny for it. The cops were a bit skeptical of her explanation, but after her parents vouched the story, they let it slide. They were now currently looking for people who most likely don't even exist.

Not surprisingly, there were a ton of people wondering what had exactly happened during the battle between May and Danny. Also, not surprisingly to Danny and his family, the government had quickly swooped in, declaring the incident as classified, and threatening martial law on the town. They had carted May's body away.

It came as a surprise to them that Matthew Clayborne, May's younger brother, was actually under mind control the whole time. The brown-haired teenager had vanished a day after the incident, and headed back to The Institute. He had no interest in the research of humans with unique powers and traits, and so he simply let them go. There were those, however, that had become far too dangerous, their mind's having been broken even more than Danny's. Matthew killed them, he had no other choice. They hadn't seen him again after that.

Maddie explained everything to her husband about Danny, and his father accepted it quickly enough. It would take awhile of getting used to by everyone though. Danny had changed, and he most likely would never be the same again. They couldn't remove his ghost half, and Jazz said that not even years of the best therapy that money could buy could undo what was done to him at The Institute. May had done her work, and she had done it damnably well. Nobody who knew her regretted her passing.

Danny, as usual, healed exceptionally fast. Where normally, it would have taken a long time for someone with broken ribs to get back on their feet, it only took Danny about three days. It was one of the few perks to being part ghost. The other two, in Danny's eyes were the ecto-fire, and the ability to phase through walls, and turn invisible. Sneaking up on people was plain fun, and Danny had admittedly become a little bit of a pyro. He blamed Mori for it, but that wasn't unusual. He always blamed either May or Mori for everything.

Danny had decided to keep the majority of the events that had occurred at The Institute between himself and Sam, despite Jazz's pleading that he should talk about it with her, and get it all off his chest. In fact, Danny didn't even talk about The Institute any further with Sam, either. He still wanted to keep the more gruesome details to himself. And he definitely didn't want his parents to know that he had a seventy plus death count under his belt, mind controlled or not. There were just some things people never needed to know, and that was one of them.

"So you're really half ghost, Danny?" Tucker leaned in, whispering to his friend, so none of their classmates could hear them. It wouldn't have mattered if he had talked in normal conversation tones though, everyone was _still _busy talking about the battle between the psychic woman and the ghost.

It was a bit funny, actually, because most people had actually thought that Phantom was a demon at first, instead of a ghost. Maddie had later disclosed the race of Phantom, but declined knowledge of anything else. Jack followed her lead.

"Yeah." Danny shrugged, as if it was no big deal. "So?"

"So, you could you know... sneak into the girl's locker room? And maybe install a video camera?" Tucker asked, nudging him in his good arm.

"I could, but why would I want too?" Danny asked, arching an eyebrow. Typical Tucker though, he was always kind of a pervert.

"Duh, half-naked chicks." Tucker said, rolling his eyes. "Not to mention that you'd get to see Sam naked..."

Sam, without any hesitation, punched Tucker hard in the arm. "Stop filling his head with thoughts like that!"

"I've already _seen _Sam naked." Danny said, grinning. Sam's face turned a deep shade of red, and she retaliated by punching Danny hard in the good arm as well. Danny simply grinned at her, causing Sam's blush and her sense of annoyance to deepen.

"Dude, when did you do that?" Tucker asked, sounding surprised.

"I changed her clothes when I kidnapped her." Danny remarked casually, still not seeing the big deal about it. He knew that it made Sam blush, which was one of the reasons he had remarked upon his glimpse of Sam's naked form in the first place. That, and he wanted to see Tucker's reaction.

"So, how-" Tucker stopped talking, after catching an extremely evil look coming his way from Sam. "Right, right... No more questions..."

Mr. Lancer cleared his throat then, signaling that class was beginning. He eyed Danny. "Mr. Fenton, please remove your feet from the desk." Danny shot him a glare, but complied. Mr. Lancer was glad to see that the boy was starting to corporate more. He seemed to have changed slightly during his suspension, his sour attitude had eased up a little.

Of course, there were now even more rumors circulating about Danny. People had heard that for a brief while, he was charged with kidnapping his own sister, although those charges were later dropped. Many people speculated on what Danny could have done to Jazz's supposed captors to make them hate him so much. Theories ranged from everywhere to taking one of their girls, or killing someone dear to them.

There were also, of course, rumors about how he escaped the jail cell without a hitch. Those ranged from his parents had helped him escape, to he had bribed one of the guards. Nobody theorized that it was because he had ghost powers, and could therefore simply phase through the wall anytime that he wanted to.

There were rumors about Danny and Sam. The two had seemed to gotten much closer over the past week. Some had even seen Danny stealing kisses from her. He had done it about three times before they had even gotten to first period, and then once more when the had arrived. He seemed to go after her a lot more than he used to, in fact, he never went after her at all.

His new romantic approaches to Sam tied directly into the rumors about what had happened to Danny in order for him to acquire his new attitude. Of course, no one suspected it was because he was physically and mentally tortured in a governmental research facility by one of the most sadistic woman the world had ever known. She was right up there with Adolf Hitler, complete with the dreams of conquest. But no one would ever know.

Needless to say, despite the causes, nobody ever tried to bully Danny Fenton, or his friends, ever again. Dash had gotten off lucky, they said, he only had his arm broken. Afterwards, he was never the same. The slightest look from the azure-eyed boy sent Dash into a fit of hysterics.

Needless to say, Dash Baxter didn't bully anyone ever again, nor was he on the football team anymore. His muscle had quickly all turned into fat, one of the hidden dangers of suddenly not being able to play football anymore. If you didn't keep on working out and watching what you ate, then you would become fat.

Paulina, after her encounter with May, had also changed. She had survived having a portion of her skin stripped off of her face, and fortunately for her, that skin was still slightly attached. The doctors managed to sew it back up, but she still had two nasty stitch scars running across her forehead. Since Paulina's popularity was always dependent on her beauty, it is needless to say that her social status took a complete nose-dive. To say that she didn't handle it very well was an understatement. She dropped out of school, and is currently begging her father for an expensive plastic surgery procedure.

Nobody ever connected the strange ghost Phantom, with the extremely different Danny Fenton. Nobody would have thought that it was possible for a living creature to be a ghost as well. The chalked it up to the passage of time, and how it can change people. It could even change a meek, somewhat naive boy, into a dangerous one, who on occasion was found carrying on conversations with himself. That fact probably disturbed people more than the fact that he could break someone's arm with his bare hands.

"Man, but I have to say, it sounds like that May person had it coming." Tucker said, talking in low tones. "Was she really trying to take over the world?"

Danny shrugged. "I think so. She was crazy like that. She probably came pretty close to taking over our country, at any rate. Who knows how deep her connections run? Jazz said that it went all the way up to the president, and I believe her."

"Think the government's going to try to come after you?" Tucker asked.

Danny shrugged again. "I don't know. They don't know my name, so it's not likely that they'll put two and two together, at least not for awhile. Besides, if I can handle May, I can handle anything they throw at me." Danny said cooly.

"Still, be careful, okay?" Sam asked him, sounding worried. She wasn't too keen on the idea of Danny disappearing again, especially not after all she had learned about his previous four year absence.

Danny leaned in close to her, an amused smirk on his face. "Worried about me, hm?" He smiled then and leaned in further, snatching a quick kiss from Sam's lips.

Sam found herself once again turning a bright shade of red. She knew that Danny did stuff like that to make her blush, and though she tried not too, it was really quite hard when he just did something out of the blue like that. She knew that he would try and pull things like that, but the kisses and the comments were unpredictable in their predictability.

Tucker looked between the two. "So... have you two gone out on a date yet?"

"We've been kind of busy healing, Tucker." Danny said dryly, rolling his eyes, amazed at his old friend's ability to at times miss the obvious.

"Tucker!" Sam shouted at the same time, turning an even deeper shade of red, the blush, for once, not caused by Danny.

Tucker laughed. "Calm down Sam. I don't see what you're getting so worked up over, anyways." Tucker shrugged. "I mean, you like Danny, Danny likes you, although, granted, it's in a kind of creepy stalker-ish manner..." Tucker began to say more, but a crimson-eyed glare from Danny quickly shut him up.

"I'm not a stalker." Danny said indignantly.

"You do act like it sometimes, though." Tucker said, regaining his voice. Sure, Danny would glare at him, and while that in itself was pretty creepy, he wouldn't actually _do _anything to him.

"Yeah, well at least I'm not a technosexual." Danny smirked at Tucker, eyeing the PDA lying on top of his desk. "I'm surprised you haven't tried to marry those things yet. You certainly have enough to start a very happy, and rather large, family. 'Course, you wouldn't make much of a father." Danny paused, casting an analyzing look at Tucker. "Actually, you wouldn't make much of a mother either. Too ugly."

"Hey! I least I haven't been accused of kidnapping... and then broke out of jail to actually kidnap someone!" Tucker snapped back. "I mean, that's just plain stupid!"

"Shut up!" Danny's eye twitched, and he punched Tucker in the arm.

"Ow!" Tucker shouted, rubbing his arm. "Geez, lay off Danny. That really hurt, you know." Okay, so maybe he was wrong. He was just glad that Danny hadn't decided to break his arm, like he had with Dash's.

Danny glared at him, crossing his arms indignantly. "Well, you should watch what you say."

"Danny, apologize to Tucker." Sam said, her violet eyes glaring at him.

"But it's his faul..." Danny began, but gave up when Sam's look didn't even begin to falter. "Fine... Sorry for hitting you Tucker..." He said, sounding annoyed. Sam's glaring look brightened into a smile.

"Yeah, just don't punch me again, okay?" Tucker asked.

"Then stop saying stupid things." Danny shot back, glaring back at him.

"Well, it's true! Actually kidnapping someone after you've been falsely accused of kidnapping someone _is _really stupid, even if they couldn't have connected you with Phantom. They might have, you know. You're parents could have told the police and you're lucky that they didn't." Tucker said, checking his arm. It would probably bruise later, but other than that, it was fine.

"Yeah, whatever..." Danny mumbled, turning away from Tucker. "Anyways, Sam, do you really want to go on a date?" He asked, changing the subject, and turning to Sam.

A triumphant grin split Tucker's face, as he knew his point had gotten through to Danny. Danny was just the kind of guy that hated to admit when he was wrong. Or at least, he was now. Back in the old days, he would have just blushed, agreed, and quickly changed the subject. Then again, maybe he hadn't changed that much. Now he just got pissed off and _then _changed the subject.

Sam arched an eyebrow. "First you embarrass me several times, then you hit Tucker and act like a baby when I tell you to apologize, and now you ask me out? I don't know if your behavior merits it."

"It's not like you have much of a choice. I'll just abduct you out of your room again." Danny said.

"And go in for a third charge of kidnapping!" Tucker chimed in, grinning. Danny glared at him again, but Tucker ignored it.

Sam sighed and shook her head, slightly amused. "Allright. Besides, there's a new horror movie I've been _dying _to see, pun not intended. So yes, I'll go out with you." She paused then, and glared at Danny. "And I'm not wearing one of those dresses!"

Life had, indeed, resumed a state of normalcy, or at least something close to it, in Amity Park. In the days that would pass, people would begin talking less and less on the strange battle in Amity and the government's handling of it. They began to switch to other topics, like the drastic changes in Paulina Sanchez and Dash Baxter, Danny, Danny and Sam's relationship, and the fact that Jack Fenton had accidentally made an army of possessed zombie wieners.

But unknown to the people of Amity Park, the ghost from the battle lived among them, none other than the highly talked about Danny Fenton. But still unknown to Danny and his companions, there were other eyes on Amity Park.

May wasn't the only one who wanted Danny back.

* * *

"You do know that this is the last favor I shall ever do for you." Desiree began, her eyes narrowed and her arms crossed. "I suppose I did owe your husband though, for helping me with that injury awhile back, but I still do not see why you thought clueing in that girl to the hybrid's past would help."

Nazami smiled, crossing her legs. "I know what I'm doing. Danny might want to keep it all locked up inside, but that's not good for him. Someone had to know about the fights. He wouldn't have talked otherwise." Nazami shrugged. "Anyways, you can go now Desiree. And thank you again for your assistance in this matter. You have helped greatly."

"Why are you two so intent on helping him, anyways?"

"Because we're just nice, I suppose." Nazami shrugged, smiling.

"..." Desiree turned, and floated out of the room, unable to think of anything to say.


End file.
